A New Rival
by Nox3
Summary: Just as the title suggests, a new monster comes to work at Monster's, Inc. Slike is her name. Randall finds she's a lot like him, both have tempers and the same reptilian stance. My first M.I fic so be nice please! completed
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the characters in Monster's, Inc. or Randall Boggs. They belong entirely to Pixar Studios.  
  
Chapter One: The New Scarer  
  
"So, um, have you heard?" Fungus asked as Randall stood leaning up against a desk waiting for his assistant to get a door.  
  
"Heard what?" He snapped flicking his tail behind him impatiently.  
  
"That we have a new Scarer." Fungus replied wincing as if he was about to be hit.  
  
"Why would I care?"  
  
"Well ah, because they're supposed to be really good. An instant top."  
  
Randall rolled his eyes. Fungus thought anyone bigger than himself was a top Scarer. After a few seconds a door was placed in his station. Glancing to his left he saw that the station was empty, no assistant or anything. Deciding that that was where this new Scarer was going, Randall turned back around to look out into the hall leading to the main hall and entrance atrium in hopes to catch a look at the new competition. Then he saw Mr. Waternoose coming towards them. He opened his mouth to say something but his boss walked right past him to the empty station.  
  
"Here, Slike, is your station." He said.  
  
Randall looked a little behind him and saw, slinking across the floor on all fours, reptilian looking creature much similar to himself. The only difference between him and this 'Slike' were that it had black spotted scales along it's back and near blood red scales on it's neck, chest, stomach, head, legs, arms, and tail instead of blue and purple. They still had three, red fronds on its head topped with black, gecko's body structure, forked black tongue, and curved black claws on its feet. Also, they had bright yellow eyes instead of green, and only six legs. But the main difference was this one was in fact female.  
  
"Thanks." She said in a silky reptilian voice, standing up onto her two pairs of back legs and crossing her arms. Mr. Waternoose nodded then left. Slike surveyed the room and the station she was at, then her eyes fell upon the scare record board.  
  
"Sullevin and Randall?" She mouthed. Slike looked away from the board to Randall standing in the station next to her. "You must be Randall I'm guessing?"  
  
"What's it to you?" He said leaning back farther.  
  
"Oh, I just like to know my competition before I beat them." Slike smiled revealing a row of white, sharp fang like teeth like his also.  
  
"Funny." Growling slightly, Randall glared down at Fungus who quickly got the door ready for scaring.  
  
"If you don't get a door in my station within five seconds, Thrasher, I will kill with my bare hands!" Slike hissed towering over her assistant a small, purple, feathered monster that stood on two legs, had two eyes, and was holding an enormous amount of paper work. Thrasher jumped, dropping all the folders and paper work and grabbed the key and ran it through the scanner. A door slid out and down into her station. "Good boy."  
  
Slike got back on all fours, well sixes in this case, and crawled up the side of the door. Thrasher opened the door as she slithered through it into the room and shut it behind her.  
  
"So, she's what, reptile?" Randall asked.  
  
"Yup." Replied Thrasher examining the scare tank that was filling with scream.  
  
"Can she, you know, change color?"  
  
"What do you think?" The door suddenly opened and closed without anyone coming through it. Then Slike appeared next to Thrasher.  
  
"How much?" She questioned panting slightly and smoothing her three fronds back.  
  
"Three tanks." Thrasher said. Slike nodded.  
  
"Well what are you waiting for! Get another door!" She snapped. Thrasher whimpered and ran to get another key for door. Randall felt a smirk slowly crept up onto his face as he watched her be almost as vicious as he was.  
  
"What's the matter with you?" Asked Fungus.  
  
"Nothing, nothing at all." Randall said before turning and walking through the door to proceed with scarring.  
  
Later that night, Randall was leaning up against the lockers in the men's locker room. He was dead tired from having worked all day. Then his locker door shut. Sighing he pushed it back open only to have it shut again. Getting frustrated he held his locker door open glaring around him. The closing stopped. He stood back to look at it then stepped forward examining the hinges. Looking at the door again, he jumped back in time before it slammed where his head had been just a second ago.  
  
"My, my, someone's jumpy aren't they?" Whispered a voice. Randall looked and saw Slike appear, leaning up against the locker next to his with her arms crossed.  
  
"What are you- How- You aren't supposed to be in here!" He growled.  
  
"I'm not? Let's let it be our little secret then how about it?" Slike walked past him and let her tail, trace his jaw line as she walked past. Closing his eyes tightly, Randall lifted his head up so that her tail no longer touched him.  
  
"What do you want." He demanded threateningly. Slike smirked, showing a few fangs.  
  
"Since I'm new to this city and I haven't really met anyone else here, I was wondering, if I could get a native like you to take me on a tour of Monstropolis." Randall raised his eyelid slightly and curved it, as he didn't have eyebrows, starring at her.  
  
"You're saying you want me, to take time out of my day, to show you around this city?"  
  
"Yeah basically. Like you've got something better to do."  
  
"Actually, I-" Randall opened his mouth then closed it.  
  
"Just what I thought." There was a creaking noise meaning someone was coming in. Slike looked up then back at him. She stepped closer finishing quietly, "Meet me at the corner of Reptilian Way around 9 o'clock." With another step she changed to match her surroundings just like a chameleon.  
  
Swallowing hard, Randall grabbed his jacket, as it was December and a cold- blooded reptile like himself would freeze and die without it. He slammed his locker hard and stalked out of the room.  
  
Chapter Two: Around the Town  
  
Randall couldn't believe he was doing this. He had set off from his home ten minutes ago at a walk and had now turned around to forget freezing his tail off about three times. Finally, he rounded the corner onto Reptilian way and spotted Slike. She was standing on her back legs underneath a lamppost with her tail wrapped up around her side. She had on a black jacket but where she had come from before probably didn't have such cold weather. Randall leaned up against the wall in the shadows watching her before he said, "Cold?"  
  
"Does it look like I'm cold?" Slike asked harshly spinning around to face him.  
  
"No not at all." Randall laughed to himself and stepped forward out of the darkness with his hands deep in his pockets. "Would let you have mine, but two pairs of arm holes." He shrugged.  
  
"Tell me do you enjoy being evil?" Slike pondered aloud walking up to him.  
  
"Oh yes, greatly." He stood up as tall as he could on his back legs, making himself about three inches taller than her. She rolled her eyes in an imitation of him that looked, as if it had been practiced they were so alike. Quickly walking past him, she coiled her tail around his ankle and pulled causing him to fall over.  
  
"Smooth real smooth." Slike paused as her mouth curled into a sneer slightly. "Now get up! I'm freezing!" Narrowing his eyes, Randall slowly stood up taking his time. "You're pushing it, really pushing it."  
  
"Pushing what?"  
  
"My patience."  
  
"Heaven forbid I make you angry." He drawled sarcastically. "Come on."  
  
He set off fast purposely to make her have to work harder to keep up with him but it didn't seem to affect her any. So, he sped up a little and turned to his left down an alley quickly, camouflaging himself to match the brick wall behind him. Slike stopped outside the alleyway and stared down it.  
  
"This is not funny. Quit showing off." She yelled.  
  
"I'd like to see you stop me." Randall questioned twenty feet up a wall looking down at her.  
  
"Is that a challenge?"  
  
"Took you a while didn't it." He heard her growl and stopped himself from laughing and giving up his position.  
  
Slike bent over so that all her feet were touching the ground. From his spot on the wall he watched until she got the idea to camouflage herself also. Randall heard several trash bins turn over then nothing meaning she had probably left. Grinning to himself he reappeared and jumped down to the ground.  
  
"Smart move." Randall heard as Slike appeared standing before him with her arms crossed. "Now before we both freeze, would you be so kind as to take us somewhere warm?" Randall sighed then said,  
  
"Fine."  
  
He led her to a small restaurant / bar that he frequented. Opening the door for her he mock- bowed keeping his face turned up grinning at her.  
  
"Ladies first." He smirked.  
  
"That means you right?" Slike smirked back with a triumphant look. Randall raised his hackles briefly before recovering himself. He stood up and pushed her in stalking in after her.  
  
"Don't get lost." He warned. "Cause I won't try to find you." He sunk down into a chair and leaned back on it tilting the chair onto its back legs as she sat down across from him. Then a waiter stopped by the table, a green, slug like monster with eight eyes.  
  
"Usual?" It grunted.  
  
"Yes, one for her too." Slike's eyes widened, looking like she had raised an eyebrow if she had any. The waiter nodded and left.  
  
"Usual?" She asked.  
  
"A thing called alcohol that one drinks often when they frequent a place usually." He suggested. Slike closed her eyes and rubbed just under them. Randall was pleased with himself at giving her a headache. Then the waiter returned with their drinks.  
  
"Yes, but what kind of drink?" She stared down into her glass sloshing the blue liquid around.  
  
"I don't really know. But it's good, strong too, think you can handle it?" Fixing him with an icy glare she down the glass and licked where her lips would have been with her long forked tongue.  
  
"Sure, I was just worried about you. You drink this stuff usually? No wonder you're so weird." Randall let out a low hiss.  
  
"Here I am trying to be nice, and you have to turn it against me. Do you know how often I'm nice?"  
  
"No, how?"  
  
"Never!" Slike shrugged. "Another, thank you." He finished to the waiter.  
  
"I thought you were never nice."  
  
"That was being polite." Both glared at each other silently without moving. Randall looked at her bright yellow eyes and noticed the black serpentine slits in the middle. Slike glared unblinkingly at the reptile across from her. Since neither needed to blink all that much she wanted to see who blinked or looked away first.  
  
Without moving his eyes, Randall picked up his glass and downed it. After a few seconds she did the same. Finally Slike blinked and Randall smiled slyly at her.  
  
"You lost." He hissed quietly. She didn't say anything. "Well in that case, since I won I get to ask you a question, and you have to answer."  
  
"Oh really? Who instated this law?" Flashing his white fangs at her Randall leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table.  
  
"It's obvious Slike isn't your first name, so what is?" Before answering she copied him and leaned forward also.  
  
"If you must know it's Sye." (pronounced like the word 'sigh' ) She answered. Under the table he would feel her tail flicking back and forth inches from his.  
  
"Nice." Then over her shoulder Randall saw Sullevin and Wazowski entering the restaurant section. Not wanting them to see him with Slike he made himself vanish into his surroundings and slide under the table just in time as the two spotted her.  
  
"Hey! You're the new Scarer at work, right?" Asked Sullevin.  
  
"Uh, yeah." Slike replied.  
  
"You, um, did a good job today, made it all the way to the top with Sully and Randall." Commented Wazowski.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Doesn't look like your here with anyone, would you like to join us?" Sullevin said politely.  
  
"Well actually," Slike started but was cut off when Randall slapped his tail on top of hers. Wincing, she finished, "Um, I mean," Suddenly her tone changed and it became more like a hiss, "Love to but can't."  
  
"Oh, ok. See ya." Wazowski, taken aback, stammered before turning and leaving.  
  
Slike watched them leave as Randall appeared in the chair across from her.  
  
"Did you have to do that?" She growled rubbing her tail with her middle set of hands.  
  
"To protect my reputation, yes." Randall said. Then Slike stood up and pushed her chair in.  
  
"I should be leaving." Without another word she started to leave.  
  
"That wasn't very polite Sye." She froze and before he knew it she was standing in front of him with her top most hands on the arms of the chair, leaning down over him.  
  
"Don't ever call me by my first name again, go it?" More of her scales, besides the ones on her back were turning black.  
  
"You didn't say thank you."  
  
"I don't care." Standing up straight she looked down at him for a second more before walking back towards the door. 


	2. A Usual, Boring Workday Not

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the characters in Monster's, Inc. or Randall Boggs. They belong entirely to Pixar Studios.  
  
Chapter Three: A Usual, Boring Work- Day.... Not  
  
Randall walked through the entrance to Monsters, Inc. and passed the front desk, heading for his boss, Mr. Waternoose's office. He reached out to open to door but before he could touch it the door opened by itself. Slike's head was turned as she finished saying something to Waternoose but her feet kept moving causing her to crash straight into him.  
  
Randall groaned as he lifted his head from the tile floor. Opening one eye he could see papers floating to the ground all around him. He shut his eye in a wince as a headache began throbbing in the back of his head. He tried to sit up but discovered he couldn't because of someone lying on top of him. Again opening both eyes time he could see a mirror image of himself looking down at him. Excuse me, would have been mirror image if it hadn't of had yellow eyes.  
  
"Oh great." Slike muttered rolling off him and standing up. The sudden contact with something a different color than herself caused her scales to match it, so she returned them to their natural red and black.  
  
"Sy- Slike?" Randall asked propping himself up on his top most elbows.  
  
"What's going on here?" Questioned their boss sticking his head out of his door.  
  
"Nothing, Slike wasn't watching where she was going that's all." He explained.  
  
"What!" She stammered. "You ran into me!"  
  
"I did no-" He was cut off from finishing as Mr. Waternoose chuckled.  
  
"Randall, Randall," He laughed, "Be a gentleman and gather her things for her." Randall's bottom jaw dropped and he stared at him in shock. "You heard me."  
  
Growling slightly, he bent down and picked up the papers on the floor. He was never going to hear the end of this.  
  
"Why thank you kind sir." Slike said and he could tell she was trying very hard not to laugh as he handed her the papers. Nodding to her boss, then him, she left walking over to Roz, her tail swaying happily behind her.  
  
"Why did you make me do that?" Randall asked Waternoose.  
  
"I didn't make you. You could have walked away any time you wanted." He replied.  
  
"If I had left you would have fired me."  
  
"All true, now go scare."  
  
Closing his eyes, counting to ten, and taking a deep breath, Randall went to the scare floor to begin his days work.  
  
Randall grinned to himself as the kid behind him still screamed bloody murder. He shut the door to the closet as the quitting bell rang and the doors were all returned. Fungus scurried away from him as quick as possible, Thrasher shortly followed. The two seemed to have made friends, seeing as they both had a lot in common; they were both assistants to ill- tempered reptiles. Randall gave one of his infamous smirks, as he saw Slike walking a short ways ahead of him. Getting an idea to get pay back for this morning, he sped up and passed her, using his tail to flip the things she was carrying out of her arms.  
  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should be more careful." He taunted turning around to look at her. She gave him a glare that clearly said if looks could kill you'd be ash by now. Randall went to leave again, and laughed when he heard her snarl in exasperation.  
  
He had made it to the hall when a paper ball hit him squarely in the back of the head. Spinning around he saw Slike standing in front of him, a satisfied look on her face. His fronds lay back closer to his head than normal and he narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Did you,"  
  
"Yes, I did." She answered before he could finish. With that she slipped past him.  
  
Randall muttered something about pay back before turning and heading toward Mr. Waternoose's office to ask him something. Cautiously he stared at the doorknob before opening it not wanting a reenactment of this morning to happen.  
  
"Uh, Mr. Waternoose?" He asked opening the door slightly. His boss looked up from whatever he was doing and smiled warmly.  
  
"What's on your mind Randall?" He greeted pointing to a chair across from him. Randall never really liked sitting, as it was very hard to do with his body structure so he just stood.  
  
"Do you think it would be possible for me to get another door? One I have now is, well, loosing it's fear of me." He explained, slightly ashamed that a human wasn't afraid of him.  
  
"Certainly, we need all the screams we can get and if a door isn't producing any you may certainly have another one." Swallowing, Randall nodded then turned to leave. "Oh, Randall, could you please take this to Slike, she left it in my office this morning and I haven't had a chance to give it to her." Waternoose held up the black jacket that Randall had seen her wear a few nights ago.  
  
"Er," He wasn't really sure he wanted to do that.  
  
"Its cold, and I know she walks home. A reptile like her, and your self, will freeze, so you best get a coat too." He tossed the coat at Randall and he caught it before leaving.  
  
Randall looked at the coat holding it as far away from him as possible. He handed it off to his second pair of hands, keeping the top most pair free. He had no idea where Slike was so sighing, he asked the first monster he found, Wazowski.  
  
"Hey Wazowski!" He called causing that stupid walking green pea to turn around. "You seen Slike?"  
  
"Um, yeah, she was heading towards the locker rooms with Betty." Wazowski paused beginning to smirk. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
"Waternoose needs me to ask her something." He lied starting to growl at what the olive had suggested.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Rolling his eyes, Randall headed back to the locker rooms. He stood, arms crossed, tapping his front bottom foot, waiting for Slike to come out. After about five minutes he got fed up. Then an evil grin appeared on his face and Randall vanished. The door to the women's locker room opened and closed without anyone visible, helping it. Slinking across the floor silently with all eight of his feet touching the ground he went to find Slike. He nearly yelped as Betty, a blue tall monster stepped on his tail.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow." She said waving cheerfully at Slike who looked as if she could have cared less.  
  
"Yeah, whatever." She replied absentmindedly before returning to her locker. Randall stood up onto his back legs behind her. She obviously hadn't sensed his presence yet. Thinking this the perfect time to take out his revenge, he held the jacket just above her shoulders then let it drop lightly.  
  
Slike whipped around panting slightly, he'd scared her that was one thing. Of course she couldn't see anyone. The jacket fell of her shoulder but she didn't seem to notice. She looked around her shutting her locker, but it opened.  
  
"What the," She started closing it. Then a look of realization hit her as the door opened again. She shut it and as Randall reached out to open it again she caught his wrist in a vice grip. Where she had grabbed him his scales turned red and black. "Randall?"  
  
"Who were you expecting? The Easter Bunny?" Randall asked pulling his arm away from her and crossing his two pairs of hands behind his back. She rolled each eye at a time, startling him slightly, that wasn't something normal. Slike brushed past him ready to get home. "Forgetting something?" He held her jacket out in front of him.  
  
Slike turned around ready for him to say something insulting but instead she saw him holding her jacket. Her normally icy eyes, Randall noticed, changed a little. They weren't cold anymore but rather thankful and warm. But whatever it was was gone as quick as it had come.  
  
"Thanks." She took her jacket put it on and left. Randall quickly left to get his own jacket before he was locked in the factory. He got outside and felt how cold it really was. Thankful for his home not being to far away, he set off at a brisk walk to get back to his warm apartment. 


	3. Incident at the Factory

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the characters in Monster's, Inc. or Randall Boggs. They belong entirely to Pixar Studios.  
  
Chapter Four: Incident at the Factory  
  
Randall exited the room he had just scared in and looked up at the Scare Board and grinned as his numbers went up. There had been about five girls having some spend the night party, and boy did they all scream.  
  
"Four tanks, sir." Fungus said.  
  
"Good now get another door so I can-" He was cut off from finishing when the station's door Slike and Thrasher were at flew open and a loud bang was heard.  
  
Slike skidded out of the door on all sixes, and curved around into a C position facing the door. Her teeth were bared and her mouth was slightly open in a growl. There was a long fresh, cut on the top of her head that had blood, more like ectoplasm as monsters didn't have the same blood like humans did, seeping out of it. Suddenly a large black and tan dog ran out after her barking and snarling. There were shouts from inside the room and objects were being thrown out of the open door. All other movement was stopped and everyone turned to look at the commotion going on. Slike's eyes were unfocused as if she wasn't really there and this was just instinct protecting her. She hissed at the dog and started forward. The dog backed up, retreating into the room. Its back leg was inside the room when Slike's hissing faded. She curled her tail in front of her before she fell over unconscious. The massive dog's growling resumed and it moved in to attack.  
  
Randall looked around to see no one moving to help. Sullevin took a step but then back up as the dog looked at him. The animal's jaws opened to clamp down on the base of Slike's neck, and several monsters gasped. Before it could bite Randall rushed forward, slamming the side of his body into the dog. The dog fell over but quickly righted itself. Randall rose up onto his back two legs and growled threateningly. The dog whimpered and bolted back into the room. Thrasher slammed the door behind it and ran over to Slike.  
  
"Slike? Slike!" He asked shaking her shoulder. "Someone get help!" Betty was the first and only one who ran off to find any.  
  
Randall stood, breathing heavily and looking down at Slike. He tilted his head sideways slightly examining the wound across her head. He could tell it was deep, much like the cut he would receive in the future when he was taken for an alligator. He still had no idea why he had saved her. Sure, he was cruel, uncaring, malicious, and mean, but despite what most monsters thought, he did have a heart.  
  
Then two monsters, both wearing white uniforms, ran in carrying a stretcher and a doctor bag. They knelt down beside Slike one of them pulled out a needle and syringe. The other pulled two of her scales apart, and the first jabbed the needle into the gap and injected a clear fluid. Randall winced; he knew just how back it felt to get a shot when you were a reptile. Semi- conscious Slike shot up scaring the first doctor half to death. She yanked the needle out of her arm and pushed back away from the two monsters. She stood up and looked around her, maybe for the dog. Whatever they had put in that shot was some kind of sedative because soon Slike's eyes became even more unfocused.  
  
She fell over and one of the doctors caught her. He laid her down on the stretch as the other fasted restraints over her arms and across her middle and in a flash they were gone.  
  
"Someone bring a door shredder!" Yelled Thrasher as the doorknob jiggled. Smitty and Needlemen hurried over and put the door through a shredder.  
  
"Never knew you had it in you Randall." Commented Sullevin placing a hand on Randall's shoulder. He shrugged it off and turned leaving the scare floor. He was sure someone would soon call the CDA and he had come into contact with the dog. Not wanting to go through the 'decontamination' process he thought it best to get out of the factory. Plus he had to think over what he'd just done.  
  
Sorry this one was so short, guys. I just wanna keep ya kinda guessing! ^_^ and i'd like to thank my one reviewer, Sean Fogle! You rule dude! Thanx for welcoming me! Told ya she'd cool down a little! But not all the way, just yet. ~_^  
  
Nox 


	4. A Visit and a Touched Nerve

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the characters in Monster's, Inc. or Randall Boggs. They belong entirely to Pixar Studios.  
  
Chapter Five: A Visit and a Touched Nerve  
  
It had been several days since the incident with the dog and Slike at Monsters, Inc. with still no sine of her. Slike hadn't come into work since. Most of the more gossiping monsters had spread rumors about her having died, severely injured, blah, blah, blah, ya get the idea. Thrasher had kept coming in and helping other Scarers since he had no one to work for.  
  
Randall thought she would have been back sooner, most reptiles healed very quickly. As the lunch bell rang and the Scare Floors were deserted Mr. Waternoose met him in the hallway and asked him into his office.  
  
"Randall, could I ask a favor from you?" He asked sitting down in the chair behind his desk. Randall had no idea how he was sitting in that chair, but he appeared to be. Pushing the thought out of his head he said,  
  
"I guess so." He crossed his top pair of arms and put the second set on his hips, well sort of.  
  
"Slike was researching something for me, and since she's been gone I haven't gotten a report on it."  
  
"If it's a scare report, shouldn't her assistant be doing it?"  
  
"No, its not a scare report, something else." Randall raised an eyebrow at this, not really raising an eyebrow but you get the idea. (Erg, this is confusing, I'm just gonna say raising an eyebrow and you guys know what it mean right?)  
  
"What's the favor?" Randall asked.  
  
"I need you to go to her house, collect the report from her, and bring it to me."  
  
"Couldn't Thrashing or whatever that things name is! I have no idea where she-"  
  
"I'd trust you with it more." Sighing, Randall ran a hand through his fronds.  
  
"Alright." Mr. Waternoose's face lit up.  
  
"Thank you. You'll get that new door first thing tomorrow." Randall nodded and turned to leave. "Oh and Randall, promise me you will not read the report."  
  
"The thought hasn't even crossed my mind." Randall lied. The thought of looking at what Slike and Waternoose were up to had come across him mind many a time.  
  
At the end of the day, Waternoose told him to get directions from Thrasher and as much as he hated doing it, Randall was forced to ask the feather- brain where Slike lived. Funny thing is, Thrasher was very protective of whom he worked for. After much prying he finally gave in but not without many questions being asked.  
  
Randall stood in front of an old brick building on Reptilian Way. He looked down the street and saw the lamppost he had seen Slike standing under when he took her on a 'tour' of Monstropolis. He took the stairs that were, thankfully, designed for more than two legged monsters, two at a time. He stared at the door momentarily before raising a hand and knocking. There was a clicking noise and the door opened.  
  
"Yessssss?" Asked a snake like creature with two arms and long black claws at the end of each of its eight fingers. It was banded with bright blue and green and had spikes ran from the tip of its nose to its tail. "May I help you?"  
  
"Yeah, is Slike in?" Randall leaned up against the doorframe glaring back at the snake in front of him.  
  
"Yessssss ssssssshe issssssss."  
  
"May I ssssssssspeak with her." He put heavy emphasis on the 's' in speak deliberately to annoy the snake.  
  
"Ssssssure, right thisssssss way." The snake moved backward opening the door wider. Randall stepped though stopping once inside and looking around him. The he felt a sharp pain in his tail. "Ssssssssorry, my fault." The snake had slammed the door 'accidentally' ::hint, hint:: on his tail. It smirked, revealing three or four-inch long fangs, as Randall rubbed his tail with his bottom set of hands.  
  
It was dark inside the building and very hot. If another monster, non- reptile, had come in they would have probably died of heat stroke. But hey, reptiles like it warm so Randall wasn't complaining. The snake coiled around forming a circle then crossed over itself and slithered up a flight of stairs. It got to the top and pointed down the hall.  
  
"Lasssssst door on the right." The snake said as Randall passed him and began down the hall. He stopped in front of the door and groaned slightly. If Slike was home, she would most probably be in crabby mood, with that cut and accident and all. The last monster she'd want to see was him. He lifted his hand, hesitated a second, then rapped the back of his knuckles on the door.  
  
"Coming!" Slike's voice yelled from the other side of the door before opening. It was nearly pitch black inside her room and she winced at the light coming from the hall, even though it was barely any light at all she did. Her eyes were closed, all three of her fronds were curved, lying limply over her left eye, and her head was leaning on the door. From what he could see, there was a long black scar behind her right eye. "Yeah?"  
  
"Well you look happy to see me." Randall said, nearly dying of laughter from her reaction of hearing his voice. Slike's fronds stood on end and her eyes flew open. Standing up straighter she crossed her arms and stared at him in shock.  
  
"What are you doing here!" She growled.  
  
"Easy, calm down! I'm here to get something for Waternoose." He explained leaning back curving his body into an S position.  
  
"He sent YOU?"  
  
"Yes, listen I don't know anything about what you two are doing so, don't bite my head off."  
  
"Pity, I would have enjoyed doing it so much. Come on." She opened the door and closed it behind him. Randall kept his tail curled around his side just in case she got the same idea as the snake had. "Did Parker lead you up here?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Parker, snake, two arms, blue and green, spikes?"  
  
"Oh yeah, him. How could you tell?"  
  
"You were holding your tail when you walked through the door." Even though he could barely see her, Randall knew she was smirking. Then she turned on a lamp and the room lit up and Randall was knocked over by what he couldn't describe other than a ball of fuzz.  
  
"Get off!" He growled pushing the, whatever away. It was licking him all over the face. He didn't like animals, he never had, probably never will.  
  
"Chill out, that's just Jake. Come here!" 'Jake' looked at Slike then jumped up into her open arms. Randall was finally allowed to right himself back onto his feet and get a good look at this Jake. It was a black ball of fuzz basically, with three beady black eyes, a yellow beak, two pointed ears coming out of the top of its head, and two yellow scaly legs.  
  
"You have an, er, pet?"  
  
"Yes, now don't get too cozy, because you're leaving as soon as you get what Waternoose wants. There are enough creeps in this building without you." She set the creature down and disappeared into another room.  
  
While waiting he looked around at the room he was standing in. There was a bookcase, with many books piled into it, a chair over in one of the corners next to a window, and a small table beside it. Sitting on that table was lamp, a glass with several purple flowers sticking out of it, and a picture. Stepping closer Randall looked at the picture and saw that it was another lizard like reptile that resembled Slike, except the picture was of a boy and he was older than her. He had the same pattern as her with blue and black rather than red, blue eyes, and still three fronds. He was smiling, showing off about four rows of sharp needle teeth.  
  
"What are you doing?" Randall turned around to see Slike across the room.  
  
"Whose this Slike? Your boyfriend?" Then he knew he'd hit a nerve. She growled quietly and glared coldly at him. "Aw, what's wrong, touchy subject? He dump you or something? Because I can see why he would."  
  
"No Randall," Slike hissed crossing the room. "That is my brother, my dead brother. I'll take it to Waternoose, you get out." She pointed toward the door. "Get out now."  
  
"Slike I-"  
  
"Get- out- now. How hard is that to comprehend?" Slike snarled her voice cracking slightly. He stared at her without moving. "What are you waiting for!" Backing up, Randall turned and left quickly. He heard the door slam loudly behind him.  
  
Thank you everyone who reviewed! You guys are great, all of you! ^_^ 


	5. Aftermath

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the characters in Monster's, Inc. or Randall Boggs. They belong entirely to Pixar Studios.  
  
Chapter Six: Aftermath  
  
The next day at work Randall was slightly dreading. He wasn't scared of Slike or anything but yesterday she had seemed pretty mad. As he walked out of the locker rooms Mr. Waternoose came up to him.  
  
"I just saw the report on my desk Randall, thank you for getting it. I just saw Slike though, so I guess you could have just let her bring it to me. Anyway, I got your new door. Your assistant already has the key." He said. Slike must have brought it, he thought.  
  
"Yeah, welcome." Said Randall quickly. He got away from his boss without exposing that he hadn't given it to him.  
  
Soon all the Scarers were on the scare floor doing their job. Randall closed the closet door behind him and chanced a glance over at Slike's station while Fungus readied a new door. The closet door opened and Slike came out. And Randall could hear them talking.  
  
"Uh, Slike?" Thrasher questioned quietly.  
  
"What?" She snapped, still obviously in a bad mood.  
  
"It happened again." He raised the clipboard up in front of him ready for an explosion. Slike sighed and raised her hand, running it through her fronds.  
  
"Ok, just... get another door." Thrasher gulped and looked thankful that she didn't blow up at him. Slike leaned against the desk in her station, rubbing the scar on the top of her head.  
  
"Er, Slike?" He said telling her that the door was there. Slike shook her head vigorously before stalking into the room. Thrasher shut the door behind her than went and busied himself, messing with the scream tank. He tapped the meter that showed how full it was. He sighed in relief as it filled all the way. That was when he caught Randall watching him. "What are you looking at?"  
  
"Nothing." Randall answered before proceeding into the closet Fungus had prepared for him to scare in.  
  
At the end of the day, Randall crossed the lobby and left Monsters, Inc. through the front doors. He got outside and felt how cold it really was. He reached up to pull his jacket closer to him to discover he didn't have it. Growling, he turned and stalked back into the lobby.  
  
Deciding he had left it somewhere on the scare floor, since he had searched the locker room and not found it. He was in the small section of hall in front of Roz's desk when he could hear voices inside the floor.  
  
"Sorry I can still see you." Said a small, more whimpering voice.  
  
"What! Ugh." He knew that one. He was sure that was Slike.  
  
"I'll try and help later but I better be leaving now." The voices stopped and Randall could hear footsteps coming towards him. Quickly camouflaged himself to match his surroundings as Thrasher walked by. He got down on all eight of his feet and crept over to where Slike was standing.  
  
"One more time." She panted turning to glare at a door that had been left out. She stood in front of him and made a pained expression. Her body mixed up in colors. Some the yellow color of the door and other black and red.  
  
"You're still there." Randall pointed out appearing in front of her. Slike's head snapped up to look at him.  
  
"Enjoying yourself? Go ahead, Boggs, take pride in the fact I can't do it anymore." She hissed. "Tell Waternoose, get me fired, not like anyone would care."  
  
"Slike,"  
  
"Don't talk to me." She picked up her jacket and passed him to leave.  
  
"Sye, I'm sorry." He said as she passed him. She froze staring straight ahead of her. Swallowing hard, he continued, "I'm sorry for what I said about your brother and for being such a jerk." She turned around slowly and looked at him.  
  
"I thought you were never nice." Slike smiled slightly and stuck out her hand. "Apology accepted. Are we even?"  
  
"Yeah, even." He paused and shook her hand. "But it's not like we're ever going to stop fighting."  
  
"True but hey, momentary truce?"  
  
"Deal." Randall then crossed his arms and frowned. "So, you can't camouflage yourself anymore? That's why you've dropped isn't it, you can't blend anymore?"  
  
"Well you saw what happens when I try. Ever since that stupid human hit me I haven't been able to do it."  
  
"I think I can help."  
  
"How?" Randall grinned. It was one of those evil grins that he only did when he had an idea. "Uh oh."  
  
Well to everyone who thought Randall needed a little romance in his life that was my idea too. Hope I'm getting it right. Cya in my next chappy! ^_^ Thanx!  
  
Nox 


	6. Training?

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the characters in Monster's, Inc. or Randall Boggs. They belong entirely to Pixar Studios.  
  
Chapter Seven: Training?  
  
"You call this training?" Slike panted letting her head fall onto the table. She was lying on her back across a desk breathing heavily. "More like boot camp."  
  
"Oh come on, you haven't even broken a sweat yet." Randall pointed out.  
  
"Guys sweat, girls glisten."  
  
"Women." He muttered rolling his eyes. So far they had used doors to practice blending then he got an idea. "Hold on." He jumped off the desk he was lying on and ran over to his station. Slike came over after him and look at a board he had pulled out. It looked like something back in school the teachers would have used to display a map or diagram. When he reached up she was surprise to see that when he pulled down a sheet there was a pattern on it.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"Something I practice with. Now blend." Randall stood back. Slike stepped up next to the sheet with the pattern on it and tried blending. "Nope I can still see you. Try again."  
  
Maybe an hour passed of getting Slike to blend to different patterns. Randall was sure it was probably three or four in the morning but it didn't really bother him. He'd always preferred night over day anyway.  
  
"Alright, try this one." He pulled down a pattern a little more complicated than the last. It was a cloud pattern. Slike nodded then blended. Randall merely stood there in shock because she had completely camouflaged herself. Where she had been standing previously was empty, no visible signs of anyone there.  
  
"What?" She questioned as he began grinning. "What?"  
  
"You did it." He said simply.  
  
"What!" A second of silent passed before Slike laughed. "Yes!" She appeared still laughing. "Finally!"  
  
Without warning she lunged at him and threw her arms around his neck. Randall then was pulled into a rib-cracking hug. He hadn't been hugged this hard in a long, long time. Not really knowing what to do he patted her on the back.  
  
"Thank you so much!"  
  
"Ah, Slike? I can't breath." She jumped backwards, letting go.  
  
"Er, sorry about that." She looked down at the ground as an awkward silence followed. "Thanks for everything. I, um... guess I'll see you later."  
  
"Yeah, but what's the point in leaving? We have to be here to work in an hour or two."  
  
"Oh yeah.... Are you hungry?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I'm hungry and I never eat breakfast. Now I've got hey, a few hours free so, why not?"  
  
"Sure, but you're buying, you owe me." Randall replied smirking.  
  
"Ugh, fine." Slike rolled her eyes, each eye at a time again and started out, putting her jacket on as she went.  
  
He followed her outside and then down the street into the city. It was still dark outside and very chilly. Slike took him to what he was sure was probably the only place open now in town. It was your small, usual, diner. Nothing special, but she said they had the best cherry pie in town.  
  
"You eat cherry pie?" He asked, as he sat down across from her.  
  
"Yeah, what's so wrong with that?" Slike said leaning back in her seat.  
  
"Seeing as you are reptile with teeth like that, I would think you'd be a carnivore."  
  
"A carnivore?" She paused to laugh then finished, "Boggs, I'm a vegetarian."  
  
"A vegetarian? A vegetarian! Ew how can you stand eating fruit and all that stuff!"  
  
"Easy, I think about the poor defenseless creature that would be slaughtered. If I decided to eat meat."  
  
The waitress, a tall leathery skinned monster with too many eyes to count, returned with their orders. As you guessed, Slike, a cherry-pie, Randall a hamburger. He smirked evilly as an idea hit.  
  
"Aw, the poor little thing." He said sympathetically looking down at his plate. "With those big round adorable eyes staring up at you before BANG!" Slike glared at him while he died laughing at the look on her face. He hadn't laughed like that in a while. Sure he could laugh at Wazowski or another monster when they made a mistake just to rub it in, but that wasn't really laughing.  
  
"Ha, ha, ha, very funny." She growled before stabbing her food with her fork, pulling it back, and laughing as Randall was hit between the eyes with pie.  
  
"You little,"  
  
"Nah, ah, ah, place nice." Slike interrupted.  
  
"Oh, but you forgot something," Randall smirked as he reached into his glass and pulled out two ice cubes. "I'm never nice." The food fight that followed should have put down in the record books; it was not pretty at all. The two got thrown out after their waitress was hit with something that would resemble a human tomato.  
  
They kinda start opening up to each other now, hope I'm doing good! Thanx again to everyone! ^_^  
  
Nox 


	7. All Scares Day

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of the characters in Monster's, Inc. or Randall Boggs. They belong entirely to Pixar Studios.  
  
Chapter Eight: All Scares Day  
  
Once a year on December 24 in the Monster world a holiday much like Christmas occurs. It's called All Scares Day. Trees are cut down and decorated, parties are hosted, presents are exchanged, etc. Every All Scares Day, everyone who works at Monster, Inc. gets together in the main lobby, and has a party. Well today was All Scares Day and Mr. Waternoose had just announced over the loud speaker for everyone to stop work and proceed the lobby.  
  
Thrasher and Fungus left to the lobby along with a few other assistants. Randall always hated the parties the company threw for one or more reasons. Its not that he didn't like the holiday, it's the people obsessed with the holiday he hated.  
  
"So they always do this?" Slike asked walking next to him.  
  
"Yeah, usually. Unless some tragic accident happens, which I've been praying for." Randall answered.  
  
"Aw, come on. Parties are fun." She punched him lightly in the arm. "There's no way you can diss a party."  
  
"I just did." He said crossing his arms. "I'm leaving, tell me when its over."  
  
"Come on, it'll be fun." She sped up to catch up with another monster, letting her tail pass under his jaw as she did. This time he didn't lift his head. Sighing, he followed everyone else into the lobby.  
  
The lobby had been decorated with streamers and many other things that were all colored to match All Scares Day. Standing in the middle of the room was a tall All Scares Day tree that had decorations on it also.  
  
Randall stood by himself in one of the more deserted corners, watching the party extremely bored. Suddenly someone laid a hand on his shoulder. Whipping around he saw Mr. Waternoose standing behind him.  
  
"Don't look so unhappy Randall, it's a holiday, cheer up." He said.  
  
"Yeah, sure." Randall muttered crossing his arms. Mr. Waternoose only grinned and turned to talk to someone else. As he turned one of his back legs, Randall was sure it was purposeful, pushed him over. Randall crashed into someone. The force of his impact knocked them both forward.  
  
"Watch where you're going!" Snapped Slike's voice. "Randall?"  
  
"Er, sorry. Tripped." He explained, untangling himself from the mess of limbs and standing up.  
  
"Oh, so you're having fun right?" She asked standing also.  
  
"Yeah, tons." Randall said sarcastically.  
  
"You'd be having more fun if you didn't....." Slike trailed off as her gaze went upward. Her bottom jaw fell open slightly and she groaned.  
  
"What?" In response she pointed up. Looking directly above them Randall's eyes fell on what Slike saw. Mistletoe. Yes, monsters called it mistletoe also.  
  
"Well, well, well, look what we have here." Waternoose chuckled looking at them both. "What a coincidence. I think the both of you know what the tradition is." He then went away to probably find two other monsters to set up.  
  
"He has it in for us!" Slike hissed as Waternoose's back was turned.  
  
"Obviously." Randall agreed.  
  
"Now, I'm not trying to insult you or anything, I like you fine and all but,"  
  
"You talk to much."  
  
And before Slike had time to react Randall bent his head down and well, kissed her. After a second she kissed him back. Now don't ask me how reptiles that don't really have lips can kiss, it defies the laws of nature. But this is the monster world, so I guess there's nothing to worry about. Then they broke apart.  
  
"That was, er...." Randall stopped trying to find the right word.  
  
"Fun?" Slike suggested quickly stepping out from underneath the mistletoe.  
  
"Not what I would have said but it works." He said following her example and getting away from the mistletoe.  
  
"Told you parties were fun." She smirked crossing her arms. "Say it, I was right you were wrong."  
  
"I was right you were wrong."  
  
"What,"  
  
"You told me to say, 'I was right you were wrong' and I said it."  
  
"That's not was I meant."  
  
"I know, but that doesn't stop me from using it against you."  
  
"Whatever happened to the momentary truce?"  
  
"Who needs a truce when you have mistletoe." Slike rolled her eyes. Suddenly she felt someone tugging on the tip of her tail. Turning around she saw Thrasher standing behind her.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I can help you tonight, if you want." Thrasher said stepping back as she leaned down to get a better look at him. Slike blinked, then stood up. She glanced at Randall then looked back at Thrasher.  
  
"No, I'm handling it fine. You just have a happy All Scares Day." Thrasher stood there staring at her in shock. Probably because of the fact Slike was being nice to him. Sighing Slike reached up, pulled down the mistletoe and glared down at her assistant. "Better leave now, before I decided to carry out with the tradition." She held the mistletoe over Thrasher and snapped her teeth at him. Quickly, the monster turned and ran away.  
  
"Does he like being threatened?" Randall asked.  
  
"I think he likes the attention or something." She shrugged and threw the mistletoe across the room so that it landed on Mr. Waternoose's head. "That crab is going to pay."  
  
"Sheesh, the way you keep carrying on you'd think you hated it or something. Am I really that bad?" He smirked, leaning back up against the wall.  
  
"No, no, you're great."  
  
"Ha!"  
  
"Oh no, I just complimented you. I'm never going to live this out am I?"  
  
"Of course not. Why would I do that?" She opened her mouth but closed it. Someone across the room called her name and she looked over to see Betty waving at her. Wincing she looked back at Randall, who was laughing. Before Slike could say anything Betty came over.  
  
"Come on Slike! We're about to sing carols!" Betty said happily.  
  
"Ah, carols? Sorry I can't er, sore throat ya know." Slike said trying to get out of singing. But the blue monster wasn't listening, she had already started dragging Slike across the room. Randall now had to use the wall for support he was laughing so hard. "Don't think you're getting out of it that easily!" She reached back and grabbed his left wrist on his bottom set of hands, pulling him along.  
  
So, how was it? Did the chapter turn out ok? Hope ya guys liked it! G2g write sum more! Byby!  
  
Nox 


	8. A New Year's Confrontation

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Chapter Nine: A New Year's Confrontation  
  
It had been a week or two since All Scares Day and tonight was New Years Eve. Finally it was the end of the work- day at Monsters, Inc. and all it's employees were being allowed to leave to go begin celebrating.  
  
Randall signed the scare report for the day and handed it to Fungus. He looked over into the station next to his to see Slike finishing up with her scare report and giving it to Thrasher also.  
  
"Got any plans for tonight?" He asked. She shrugged before saying,  
  
"No, not really. Just the usual New Years stuff. You?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Hey! Then that settles it! Since both of us aren't doing anything, we can celebrate it together!" And before Randall could reply, Slike started to leave. She got to the end of the hall- way, in front of Roz's desk and turned around. "Coming?"  
  
"Fine, just don't get drunk. Monsters on New Year's sometimes get drunk. I can imagine you drunk, and its not pretty." To add the effect he shuddered slightly.  
  
"Ugh, me drunk? Never, just for that you are going to get it."  
  
"I'm terrified really." He ended sarcastically as he caught up with her.  
  
"You should be."  
  
After grabbing their jackets, as it was as cold as ever, they left the factory. It was already around nine o'clock when they arrived at the place Randall had taken her on the 'tour' of Monstropolis. They sat at the same table they had last time and ordered the same usual.  
  
"So, Randall, have any New Year's resolutions?" Slike asked setting down her empty glass.  
  
"I guess, breaking the Scare Record before Sullevin, not really anything else. What about you?" Slike visibly blushed and looked down at the ground.  
  
"Me? I don't have any resolutions." She said quickly, a little too quickly.  
  
"Do you know how badly you lie? You're holding out on me, spill it." She bit her bottom lip before muttering,  
  
"Find someone right for me, you know all that stuff." Rather shocked, Randall recovered himself and placed a smirk on his face. "Boggs, I swear if you tell anyone I will," Slike held up her top two hands and made a violent strangling motion in the air.  
  
"Me tell someone? No, then I couldn't use it as blackmail anymore." He choked while trying to hold down a laugh as she hissed threateningly at him, balling her hand that was resting on the table into a fist. "So, do you have anyone in mind?"  
  
"If I did, I wouldn't tell you because,"  
  
"Aw, don't trust me? I'm hurt."  
  
"Because you are an irritating, annoying,"  
  
"Charming, handsome,"  
  
"Egotistical, obnoxious,"  
  
"Sly, cunning,"  
  
"Carnivorous, daft, psychotic maniac of a lizard."  
  
"I feel so loved, hints the sarcasm."  
  
"I could have caught it without your help." Several minutes passed without any talking. Then Slike stated, "I'm bored."  
  
"Yippee for you."  
  
"You're no help." Then she grinned; it turned into one of those 'I've got an idea' grins that only meant trouble. "I have an idea."  
  
"I could tell."  
  
"Let's play Truth- or- Dare."  
  
"You have to be kidding." He stared at her and saw that she wasn't.  
  
"I go first. Truth or dare?"  
  
"Truth." He wasn't stupid enough to choose a dare. Slike was an interesting individual and he didn't even want to begin thinking about what she might say for dare.  
  
"Did you enjoy kissing me?" Ok, forget that, Randall thought, any dare would be better than this. He stared at her, gulped, before she said, "Answer me."  
  
"Ah.... I can't say that I didn't enjoy it. I mean what guy would turn down kissing someone?"  
  
"HA! Now we are even! I have blackmail on you; you've got it on me. So there."  
  
"My turn. Truth or Dare?"  
  
"No, you don't get a turn. You didn't want to play remember?"  
  
"That's not fare! I answered a question, and a humiliating one at that, so now it's my turn."  
  
"Life is not always fare." She smirked at him and leaned back in her chair.  
  
"Women." He muttered again. He'd never understand them; they were too complicated.  
  
Several hours later, around eleven o'clock, the restaurant and the bar section of the building were getting pretty filled up. So they decided to leave. Once outside Randall glanced over at Slike to see she was a little more, happy than usual.  
  
"Slike, are you ok?" He asked stepping back slightly.  
  
"Never better, why do you ask?" She grinned.  
  
"You're drunk aren't you?"  
  
"Buddy, you'd know if I was drunk. Right now I'm not." She sat down onto a park bench that over looked a small section of Monstropolis Park. He set down on the other end of it crossing his bottom two sets of legs.  
  
"Twenty- nine, twenty- eight, twenty seven, twenty six," Slike suddenly started counting.  
  
"What are you doing?" He asked interrupting her.  
  
"Counting down till midnight. Twenty-three, twenty- two,"  
  
"Thirty-four, thirty- three, thirty- two,"  
  
"Eighteen, Seventeen, Sixteen," She continued more loudly, clamping her hands down over the sides of her head, drowning him out. "Ten, nine, eight, seven,"  
  
"Twelve, eleven,"  
  
"Ten, no! Five, four, three,"  
  
"Six,"  
  
"One!" Off in the distance there was a lot of shouting and fire works were being set off. "Happy New Year."  
  
"Yeah, you too." Slike rolled her eyes at how un-enthusiastic he was being. Then she saw the couple on the bench a few yards down the road having a make- out session. "Is that... Wazowski and Celia?"  
  
"Where?" Randall leaned back and looked past Slike to see what she was talking about. "My poor eyes!" He quickly looked away and rubbed his eyes. "They're scarred!"  
  
"No kidding." Slike turned her head and stared down at the grass. "That horrible image is going to be branded into my head for weeks."  
  
"I am going to need some serious therapy to get rid of that picture." He sighed and cracked his knuckles. "Never thought I'd be spending New Year's with you."  
  
"Well if you don't like the idea of me, think of spending it with a friend. I better get home. Parker locks the door in twenty minutes. See ya." And then without giving him warning, she leaned over, and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Without another word, she stood up and left, leaving him sitting there on the park bench in shock. He sat there staring ahead of him for a few minutes before a small smile came onto his face.  
  
"Enjoying yourssssssself?" Randall shot up and spun around to see Parker, the long green and blue reptilian snake, leaning up against a tree with his two arms crossed.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Randall growled glaring at the snake.  
  
"If you know what'ssssssss good for you, ssssstay away from my girl." With that he turned and slithered back into the darkness.  
  
Don't get too mad yet, you'll see what happens next. ~_^ --- Nox 


	9. To Fight and To Forgive

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Chapter Ten: To Fight and To Forgive  
  
Quitting bell rang after a painfully long day. Randall had been in a bad mood ever since what Parker had told him. What frustrated him most was he didn't know why. Recently, whenever he'd been around her he'd been happy and glad to be with her. Since she was with Parker, whatever chance he thought he had had with her was gone. He walked out through the front doors of the factory and heard another door open behind him then someone calling his name. He knew exactly who it was but he kept on walking.  
  
"Hey! Randall, I'm trying to talk to you!" Slike said stepping in front of him. "You haven't spoken to me all day, what's wrong?"  
  
"When were you planning on telling me Parker was your boyfriend?" He growled glaring at her.  
  
"What!" She yelped slightly backing up a step.  
  
"After you left the park last night, guess who I ran in to? That snake threatened me and told me to stay away from 'his girl'. Seeing as you were the only girl around I could only wonder who he was talking about!" He snarled raising his hackles slightly.  
  
"What- Whatever Parker said to you he was lying! He lied to you!"  
  
"Yeah, well I'm not so sure he's the one whose lying!"  
  
"You told me how badly I lied, does it look like I'm lying now?" He didn't answer. "I hate him with a passion, he knows it, and he does anything to make my life and the lives of those around me miserable. I would never do anything like that. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."  
  
"Hurt me? Since when did I care about you?" A hurt look came across Slike's face and she backed up farther. Mentally kicking himself, Randall regretted already what he'd just said.  
  
"You obviously haven't noticed but I care about you too much to ever do something like that. I wouldn't lie to you." She said before blending herself and vanishing.  
  
The sound of her voice and the look in her eyes told him she wasn't lying. He just blown up at one of the few creatures that had ever thought of him as a friend. Feeling guilty and horrible he went to the only other place he'd think of her to be; back to the small restaurant where they had had their food fight.  
  
Randall opened the door and spotted Slike sitting at a back table. Her head was resting on the palm of one of her hands and she was staring out the window next to her. He crossed the section of floor between them and sat down in the chair across from her. Startled she looked at him then back out the window, ignoring him being there.  
  
"Why are you here? I didn't think you cared." She asked coldly.  
  
"I should have listened to you. I just want you to know it's not true what I said. I do care about you, you're one of the only monsters I've considered to be a friend. Sorry for not believing you." He said before standing up. "Well I'll see you around."  
  
"Randall," Slike suddenly said looking over at him to see he was gone. Looking up at the door she saw his tail vanish through it.  
  
Out on the street, Randall was walking back towards his home. She was still mad at him that was for sure. He deserved it to. Sighing to himself he picked up sped as the wind began blowing making the air around him colder. Then someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Slike standing in front of him.  
  
"That was some pretty mean stuff you said earlier today. Most monsters wouldn't forgive you for it." She said. Then her eyes became like they had in the locker room that one- day, kind and warm not cold. "But, I think I'll make an exception. You're forgiven."  
  
"Slike, I... you're a very confusing creature you know that right?" Randall said staring down at her a smile appearing, a real smile.  
  
"And you're a creature that talks to much." Then to his surprise she put her arms up around his neck pulled his head down to her height and kissed him and he kissed her back. He was thankful to have someone care about him. He put both sets of hands around her back pulling her closer. After a minute or two they broke apart.  
  
"You know, we should go to the park or something before some kid gets scarred for life." Randall smirked. Slike looked up at him then rolled her eyes. "I have to show Wazowski how its done."  
  
Well there you go everyone! Hope this chapter wasn't too mushy or anything for you. I thought those two would never get around to it. ~_^  
  
On second thought, I'm not going to put up a different chapter. An idea just popped up into my head on what to do next. I think I'm going to make the ending tie in a little to the movie. ^_^ thanx everyone!  
  
Nox. . 


	10. First's are not always the best

Disclaimer: See Previous Chapters.  
  
Chapter Eleven: First's are not always the best  
  
Randall rolled over and glared at his screaming alarm clock sitting on the table next to his bed. Growling, he pushed it off the table and was satisfied to hear it crash then silence. He sat up on the edge of his bed and yawned. Sometimes he hated getting up in the morning to go to work but he had to. In a few hours he had done all the scaring for the day and it was just about time for the quitting bell to ring.  
  
He opened a closet door and slipped inside quietly, shutting it behind him. Creeping silently over to the wall, he blended to match it. Suddenly, the boy lying in bed sat up and looked around his room. Randall heard him gulp before he laid back down and went to sleep again. Taking to the wall, he climbed up onto the ceiling then down just above the kid's bed and onto his head- board. The boy shot up and stared around the room. Randall began growling and slowly, the boy turned his head around and saw Randall as he returned to purple and blue. He screamed bloody murder and nearly fell off the bed. Laughing to himself, Randall jumped off the wall and onto the ground before leaving the room. He shut the door behind him and smirked to see his numbers go up. Just then the quitting bell rang.  
  
"Bye, sir." Fungus said before turning and scampering away out of the scare floor.  
  
"Yeah, bye." Randall replied. He started to leave but stopped and glanced behind him, to see Slike still in her station. "Hey."  
  
"Hi, what's up?" She asked stretching her top arms and tail.  
  
"Not much. Listen, Slike, are you doing anything tonight?" She looked up at him from the scare report she was signing.  
  
"No, why?" She handed the report to Thrasher and glared down at him meaningfully, flicking her eyes toward Roz's desk, a sign for him to leave. Taking the hint he quickly left.  
  
"In that cause would you, um...." Randall trailed off rubbing the back of his neck with one of his top hands.  
  
"Boggs, are you asking me out?" She folded her arms and leaned back against the desk.  
  
"What? No, no, of course not, I was just... just... um...." She raised her eyebrows and smirked at him. "Just... uh..." He sighed then finished. "Yeah basically."  
  
Slike laughed quietly, not a mean laugh by any means. The smirked faded into a smile and she uncrossed her arms. "What else is there to say besides yes?"  
  
"So, uh,"  
  
"You haven't ever done this before have you?" Without waiting for an answer, She continued, "How about I meet you around eight at the place we went on New Year's?"  
  
"Alright then."  
  
"See ya at eight." She stepped past him and left. Grinning to himself Randall turned and headed out after her.  
  
It seemed to Randall that eight o'clock came around not two minutes after he shut the door to his apartment. But he had seen the clock when he opened the door and it was five then. The three hours seemed to pass all to quickly.  
  
He stepped through the door of the bar section of the building and saw Slike sitting at the far table they had had each time together in this place. Her legs were resting in the seat of one of the chairs, her tail across the armrest. She didn't notice him sit down across from her because of the fact she was focused on reading a book propped up in her lap. Waiting for a second, Randall smirked then put his bottom feet up in the chair across from the one her feet were resting in. Still she didn't look up. So trying to make his presence known he took a napkin off the table, crumpled it, then raised his hand to throw it at her.  
  
"Don't even think about it." Slike said marking her place in the book and setting it down on the table.  
  
"You knew I was here?" Randall asked slightly shocked.  
  
"You're pretty loud." It was now her turn to smirk. He rolled his eyes and removed his feet from the chair, sitting up and leaning back into his seat.  
  
"I'm loud? Since when was I loud?"  
  
"Since now."  
  
"You're impossible."  
  
"I know." Slike put her feet back on the ground as a waitress stopped by the table. A short, one eyed monster with fur, four arms, three legs, and a long tail.  
  
"What will you have?" She questioned putting two hands on her hips, getting the two others ready to take the orders.  
  
"Usual for both of us, Maggie. Oh but," Randall leaned over and told the waitress something, letting Slike look from one to the other with a questioning look on her face.  
  
"Alright." She turned and left.  
  
"What was that about?" Slike said crossing her arms.  
  
"Just a little pay- back Slike, and something to make you get in touch with your carnivorous side." Randall smiled slyly at her.  
  
"I don't have a carnivorous side." She pointed out.  
  
"I think you do."  
  
"You think wrong." The waitress returned and set down two glasses of the blue 'usual' liquid and two hearty looking hamburgers. "No way." Slike stared down at in with a sick look on her face. "I am not eating that."  
  
"Oh yes you are." He said smirking.  
  
"Oh no I'm not."  
  
"Remember I've got blackmail..."  
  
"I have blackmail on you too, don't forget that!"  
  
"Yeah, but I don't care about that, wouldn't bother me if you yelled it to the whole world." She narrowed her eyes and looked back down at her plate.  
  
"You fiend."  
  
"Fiend?" He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Fiend. Blech." She pushed the plate away and stuck her tongue out.  
  
"You don't know what you're missing." Twenty minutes later Slike was still glaring at him. "Give it up Slike, the creature is dead, it won't feel a thing."  
  
"It felt something while they were killing it."  
  
"Yes, but if you don't eat it, then it died for no reason, think of it that way." She looked sadly down at her plate then back up at him then down again.  
  
"Fine." She picked up the hamburger and stared at it. Gulping she took a bite out of it with her front teeth. After she swallowed her food she looked back at him.  
  
"Like it?"  
  
"It's actually not that bad."  
  
"HA!" Slike just shrugged and finished eating.  
  
Soon they left and went outside. It was still cold but not at cold as January or December had been. They both walked up to the same park they had been on New Year's and sat down on a park bench.  
  
"You've seemed a lot more tired lately, you know worn out. What's been going on?" She asked suddenly. Randall glanced at her then back out at the pond in front of them.  
  
"I have no idea what you mean. Nothing's going on." He lied easily. He knew exactly what she was talking about (and I think the rest of us do to) in being tired. Working up late for Waternoose on different things will do that to you.  
  
"Ok, just checking. So, what do you think..." Suddenly Slike trailed off staring over his shoulder. Slowly she stood up and growled threateningly, "May I help you?"  
  
"Yessssss, you may. I thought I told you to ssssstay away from my girl?" Parker hissed raising his hackles slightly with each 's', revealing two longs fangs. Randall stood up glaring straight back at the snake.  
  
"Parker, we have been over this a thousand times! I am NOT and NEVER was your girl! I hate you and you know it!" More of her scales began to turn black as she said this. "Why did you lie to him like that!"  
  
"Becausssssse if I can't have you no one can!"  
  
"I suggest you get over that real quickly!" With one last scorching glare she turned and started to stalk off. Parker snarled to himself and finished quietly just loud enough for the other two reptiles to hear,  
  
"I should have killed you when I had the chance." Slike whipped around in the blink of an eye and stared in shock at the snake.  
  
"What did you say?" She asked.  
  
"For someone who loved her brother so much, you didn't ask a lot of questions about how he died." Randall looked at Slike to see her completely different from just a moment ago. Her cold eyes were even colder if possible and nearly brimming with tears and she was just visibly shaking, whether from anger or the cold he didn't know. "The last thing he told me was to stay away from you."  
  
"It was you? You killed him?" The snake just smiled at her. Slike closed her eyes and gritted her teeth then lunged forward catching Parker by surprise who backed up. Randall caught her arm and held her back from doing anything stupid.  
  
"No, let her go, let's see what you've got, Sye." Randall tightened his grip as she tried forward again. This caused Parker to laugh.  
  
"Let me handle this." Randall said quietly blending himself and releasing Slike. Parker looked around for where he had gone, stopping his laughing immediately. Without warning there was the crack of bone on bone and the snake fell backwards, his head hitting the gravel walkway with a thud. Randall then appeared rubbing his top knuckles with his other hand. Kicking the un-conscience monster to make sure he was out he looked back at Slike.  
  
"I'll kill him." She said simply. "I'll kill that bloody,"  
  
"Yeah, and wind up in jail. Someone was bound to have heard or seen that. We should get out of here." Sighing she nodded. Then looked back at the park bench and picked up the book.  
  
"Well, he's going to pay at least." She pulled out the bookmark, a dark purple long and thin teddy bear; flat in the middle so it could rest in the book. "One of my kids," Randall raised an eyebrow. "Not that way you sicko, one of the kids I scare gave it to me. She stopped being afraid and thought of me as... think of an imaginary friend." Slike walked over to Parker and dropped it on him, kicking him squarely in the ribs as she stepped over him, making Randall smirk slightly. "Let the CDA deal with him.... 23-19!" She shouted and in the distance an alarm went off followed by sirens. She then disappeared, followed shortly by Randall.  
  
Staying near each other so they would know where to meet, the two stopped running about a block away. As soon as he turned the corner Randall turned back to purple and blue. Slike had already returned to natural colors. He glanced at her to see shock just now wearing off.  
  
"Slike are you ok?" He asked. She didn't even look at him.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I can't believe it... I'd never had expected Parker to have done it. He had and Joey had known each other since they were kids. They were even friends." She replied.  
  
"Joey was your brother?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm gonna go now, to think this over."  
  
"Slike, you aren't gonna make it back all the way across town."  
  
"Whoever said I was going home? Just on a walk."  
  
Slike started off down the sidewalk heading away from him. Sighing, Randall quickly caught up with her and fell into sink beside her. The rest of the night they spent talking about everything that had happened tonight, mostly about Joey. When they passed a store selling TV's and gadgets like that, one of the sets on was a news broadcast about the 'A deranged and possibly insane serpent, whose actions and strange comments are blamed on the toxic bookmark, contaminated by a child.' And it went on saying that the snake was going to be taken to the psychiatric center at Monstropolis General Hospital. Otherwise, dear Parker was basically being chucked into the loony bin, much to Slike's approval.  
  
Sorry this took so long to get up guys! My computer has been down and this was a rather long chapter. I'll try to get the rest of the story up soon, sorry again for the wait. Thanx and I hope you like,  
  
Nox 


	11. The Machine Revealed

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Chapter Twelve: The Machine Revealed  
  
Have you ever had to deal with something that is so frustrating you want to quit right then and there? Well, that's how Randall felt as he growled in exasperation at the machine in front of him. Ever since Waternoose had asked him to build this stupid thing he'd been tired and irritable. Mostly his temper had risen from his being sleep deprived and how frustrating the Scream Extractor was turning out to be.  
  
He glared at it and picked up the wrench on the ground to finish tightening a few bolts. When done he looked around him at the half- built machine and the room it was in. Rusting pipes, cobwebs, and just about everything else that could be wrong with this room was there. He hated it down here. Suddenly a loud bell broke his train of thought. That was the bell meaning work was just starting and monsters were beginning to arrive. Randall had no idea he had been down here that long. Quickly he hid everything, and started up the long tunnel. Once at the end he listened to make sure no one was near the other side.  
  
After he was out, Randall went to the locker rooms. He could hear Wazowski carrying on to Sullevin about something he didn't care about before e slipped out.  
  
"Whoa Randall, you don't look so good." Slike said appearing beside him. Only a reptile could tell if another reptile didn't look good. As they didn't have skin that showed him being paler, blushing, or things like that, it was hard to tell. But the slight change in the color of his scales from bright purple and blue to dull told Slike he wasn't feeling well.  
  
"I'm fine." Randall answered looking at her. She folded her arms and gave him a look that meant she knew he was lying. But all the same she sighed and left. That's what he liked about her. She could be impossible sometimes, annoying you to death, and then she could be understanding, leaving you alone if you needed it. .  
  
Work that day was hard but he managed. Randall had almost fallen asleep but recovered himself both times. Again tonight he would have to work on the half finished machine lying in the basement of the factory. Waternoose would have his tail if he didn't get it finished. Also the crab kept going on about how Sullevin or someone 'better' could have gotten it done. Randall had thought about shoving a wrench down his boss's throat several times, but if he wanted to keep his job, he'd have to hold his temper.  
  
"Are you feeling alright sir?" Asked Fungus as the quitting bell sounded. In response Randall glared down at him, shoved past and left to start working... again. But before he could finish someone stepped on his tails making him stop in his tracks.  
  
"What are you," He started angrily turning around. Then he stopped himself when he saw Slike standing there, her front left foot on top of his tail, her arms crossed.  
  
"So, where ya going?" She asked.  
  
"Locker rooms and why do you care?"  
  
"For one, locker rooms are in the opposite direction down a hall to the left. Have you really forgotten that soon?" Bad excuse, bad excuse, Randall thought to himself.  
  
"Slike, just leave me alone ok?"  
  
"I'll leave you alone, when you tell me what's going on. For the past month you've been always late to work, which you usually never are, you're tired, and more bad- tempered than usual."  
  
"Nothings going on that concerns you," He answered a little more coldly, "Now leave me alone." Slike cocked her head to the side, looked him over, and glared at him straight in the eye, before turning and leaving. Shaking his head, Randall continued down to the factory basement.  
  
Randall rubbed his sore hand from where it had been shocked by the two wires he had been trying to connect. Growling, he again tried to connect the wires but stopped. He felt it again. Someone was looking at him. He looked over the Scream Extractor and scanned around the room. Shaking off the feeling he went back to the wires to only spin around when he heard,  
  
"What the devil are you doing?" Behind him Slike was over looking the machine and all the things around it.  
  
"Slike, you need to leave, now." Randall ordered starting forward towards her.  
  
"You'll never connect those two wires, try blue instead of yellow."  
  
"Now! If Waternoose sees you he'll" He stopped himself realizing what he'd just said.  
  
"Oh, so Waternoose is in on this too?" She smiled showing off her fangs as she caught him. "It's not use covering up now so might as well tell me what that thing is." She nodded to the machine. Randall ran his hand back through his fronds and stared at her. Why did things always have to get complicated when you don't want them to be, he thought to himself.  
  
"This is called the Scream Extractor, basically what it does," And so he proceeded to explain. Near the end Slike looked a little in shock.  
  
"So, you're going to 'kidnap' a human kid bring them here and test it?" She asked quietly glared over at the machine then looking up at him.  
  
"Not really, but well....." He swallowed and looked down. "Yeah. Sometimes, you have to things you don't want to for good."  
  
"No good's gonna come from this. But," She uncrossed her arms and smiled slightly. "I'll help you with this thing, then you won't..."  
  
"Won't what?" He smirked leaning back again the machine.  
  
"You know,"  
  
"Are you saying you care about how I feel? Aw, Slike I feel so wanted." She rolled her eyes, shoving him lightly, and then went to connect the wire she had been fooling with.  
  
"Would it be so awful if I did care?"  
  
"No, I'd just get more blackmail." He grinned as she threw a wrench at him, missing his head by about three feet. "Good aim."  
  
Well, this one took a while to put up too! I'm sooooooo sorry u guys had to wait so long! But thanx for reviewing still. Told you i'd make it tie in with the movie.... ^_~  
  
Nox . 


	12. The Jake Mistake

Disclaimer: I don't own it so don't sue me please!  
  
Chapter Thirteen: The Jake Mistake  
  
Randall groaned slightly rubbing the side of his head. He opened one eye to see his vision obscured by black fuzzy fur. At first he had no idea what to do except shove it away from him. Sitting up he stared down at,  
  
"Jake?" The black ball of fuzz looked up at him, before tackling the side of his head in a licking frenzy.  
  
Pushing the creature away, Randall stood up and started out of his room, his head was throbbing painfully. Suddenly Slike walked by in front of him.  
  
"Finally awake? That tank must have hit you pretty hard." She said stepped over Jake as he ran around her feet faster than nearly the speed of light.  
  
"What happened?" He asked yawning, and stretching backwards.  
  
"You were working on the machine thing, a loose scream canister fell and hit you on the head pretty hard. You fell over completely out of it. Thrasher and Fungus helped me get you back home."  
  
"Oh." Holding the side of his head, he lied down on his couch. With his long, near twelve- foot body, his bottom legs and tail were hanging off onto the floor. Then he happened to look around the room. "What happened!"  
  
"I just cleaned up a bit. Sheesh, Randall this place was a mess." Slike said walking back into the room.  
  
"You organized my mess!"  
  
"Organized your mess?"  
  
"Yes! I knew where everything was!"  
  
"Oh really?" She smirked sitting down on the edge of the couch near his head and looking down at him.  
  
"Yes! Now I have to mess it all up again, thanks." Randall said sourly  
  
"Thank you so much Slike for organizing my disaster area! I really do appreciate you working your tail off in an attempt to clean this junk yard." Slike said sarcastically rolling her eyes as she finishing. Then she stood up and walked back out of the room. As she came back in she said, "I've got to go, but I'll be back later. Jake's staying to keep you company. Ta- ta." And before he could object the door to his apartment shut.  
  
Randall glanced down at Jake who was sitting on the floor in front of the couch. The creature stared up at him unblinkingly to that point that it got to be unsettling.  
  
"Do you mind?" He asked. Jake jumped up and down then ran out of the room. "That's why I hate animals." He leaned his head back and shut his eyes.  
  
After a few seconds something round and wet was placed into his hand that had been handing over the edge of the couch. Shocked, he shot up, and threw whatever it was away from him. Jake, thrilled, chased the ball across the room, skidding into a bookcase as he stopped to pick it up. Then he trotted back to Randall and laid it on the edge of the couch.  
  
"No," Randall said. "I am not playing fetch with you!" Jake whimpered sadly. "Nope, no that won't work." More whimpering. "No!"  
  
Randall rolled over, his back facing Jake and the ball. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. In the background he could here Jake begin to whimper again. He grabbed a pillow, and pulled it down tight over his head. That had no effect on the noise what so ever.  
  
"FOR THE LOVE OF PETE ALRIGHT!" Randall yelled rolling over and throwing the ball as hard as he could across the room. Jake sprinted after it. And to Randall's horror, well not completely horror, more a mix of horror and joy, the ball sailed right out the open window, Jake jumping out after it. Feeling his bottom jaw drop, Randall jumped up and ran over to the window. Looking down out onto the street he could see Jake, still, running after the ball away from the building. "Oh crap."  
  
Randall ran from the window and out the door. He rushed out the front door onto the street and saw Jake vanish into a building. Doesn't it just figure he vanishes into the one building Randall would rather have eaten a cherry pie than go into. the dentist's office. Ever since he was a kid he'd hated the dentist. It was just how he was. The idea of sticking sharp pointy tools it his mouth wasn't very appealing. Anyway back to the chasing.  
  
"Jake! You stupid fur ball come here!" He called dodging past a nurse carrying a tray of sharp pointy tools. The little monster, obviously Ricky's son, sitting in the dentist chair cheered as the nurse dropped the tools and sent them tumbling out the window. Randall glanced around the room, and saw Jake chasing the ball back down the hall into the waiting room and out the door again. Groaning he ran after the creature.  
  
He stopped outside and looked left and right trying to see which way Jake went. Then he spotted him near a couple of fruit stands. Before Randall could grab him, Jake bounded up a pyramid of blue slightly squirming fruit, somewhat like human apples. The ball stopped momentarily, balancing on the top most fruit thing. Jake crouched down ready to spring.  
  
"GET DOWN HERE NOW!" Randall called but it didn't do any good as half way through his sentence Jake leapt causing an avalanche of fruit. Uncovering himself from underneath the squirming blue food he stood up and looked around several monster were glaring death at him as they stood up also. Then he felt something roll into his bottom front foot. Leaning down he picked up the ball Jake had been chasing. Then he heard the small patter of feet sprinting towards him. Glancing up, he could see Jake, coming at him at full speed.  
  
"Jake no, slow down. Back off! No wait, AAH!" Jake lunged at him crashing into Randall, knocking both of them to the ground. Randall's head slammed into the ground causing a picture or memory to fill his mind.  
  
It was raining, dark, and cold. The rain was like ice against his scales. He was staring down the barrel of a gun. He was sure that's what it was. His hands were wet but not from the rain. It was thicker than rain- water. Cold, cruel laughter filled his ears. There was the sound of a gun being cocked, and someone talking.  
  
"Think about the possibilities? Two friends have a fight, both end up dead, one holding a gun, need I saw more?" The voice, strangely familiar said. He knew that voice but couldn't place a face to it. "Can you guess whose holding the gun?" Then Randall could feel himself begin to say something, but before he could hear what he said everything returned to normal.  
  
He opened his eyes to see Jake staring at him. Picking the animal up he left before anyone could stop him.  
  
Once inside his apartment he shut the door and the window just in case. As soon as he finished sound of the being unlocked caught his attention. Quickly he jumped onto the couch and leaned back in a relaxed position as Slike walked in. She looked around and then at him.  
  
"Nothing to catastrophic happen while I was gone?" She asked coming so stand in front of him. Randall and Jake glanced at each other then back at Slike. Randall put on a sly grin and finished,  
  
"Oh nothing that bad." Slike bit her tongue, and nodded slightly, before turning and walking out of the room.  
  
~ I'm so sorry this one took SO long! There was an ice storm and our power went out and my comp has been down, so I couldn't do it except at school. I'll try to get the other chaps up sooner, hope yall liked this one. The flash back memory thing yall saw was part of another fanfic I'm going to do once I finish this one, and it doesn't have much longer, maybe three or four chapters. See ya!  
  
Thanx, Nox . 


	13. Things Happen

Disclaimer: Don't own it.  
  
Chapter Fourteen: Things Happen  
  
"Well I think it's done." Randall said drying the grease and oil from the machine off his hands.  
  
"Yeah, now all we have to do is get a kid right?" Slike asked.  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Randall this isn't right, I mean this is kidnapping. Its wrong." Slike said looking up at him.  
  
"I know it is but, there's nothing I can do about it, Waternoose will do something bad if I don't do this for him." Slike looked down and sighed. He wasn't going to tell her just what Waternoose had sworn to do if he didn't complete this for him, knowing Slike it would drive her up a wall. Randall felt his fronds lie back slightly as he thought about what he was just about to do. "Sye, we'll take the kid home as soon as the test is over. You take the key and get the door, then come back and get the extractor ready, I'll get the kid." She nodded and went to get the door they needed.  
  
Randall watched her for a second then turned and left the room. Waiting until she came back he took one of the carts containing the trick scream tanks that were really a box or container for something. He began to push the cart down the hall quietly. Even though no one was there, he wanted to be sure no late working janitor heard him. As he reached the scream floor, he poked his head through the door to make sure no one was there. Seeing no one, he pushed the door open farther, getting the cart through just before it closed.  
  
Before he went inside the room he camouflaged himself. Inside there was no little girl. Pondering where she might have gone he shut the door and began to push the cart away. Suddenly he sneezed. He had bumped into a shelf, causing a box of crayons to fall on him while inside the kid's room. He was allergic to kid's crayons for some reason. Shrugging Randall left to get back to the factory basement.  
  
"So, where's the kid?" Asked Slike looking at him as he came back without a test subject.  
  
"Wasn't in the room." Randall replied pulling the cover over the machine. "We'll try again tomorrow. Want me to walk you home?"  
  
"I guess so."  
  
Now to get to Slike's house from the factory you had pass in front of HARRYHAUSEN'S . As they passed by it, Slike and Randall both heard a very large commotion. Glancing at each other they turned to look at the building. All of a sudden the doors burst open and monsters began pouring out, most of them screaming about a kid.  
  
"Now would be a good time to leave." Slike commented backing up as CDA members began to arrive.  
  
"Yeah, good idea." Randall agreed. They both turned and quickly walked away. As soon as they were maybe a hundred feet away from the building, a giant greenish aqua dome came up, decontamination.  
  
"So a kid got out?" Slike asked looking away from the news she had been watching on the TV. Randall stopped his pacing to look at her. "You don't think.."  
  
"That, that was the kid wasn't in her room? Yeah, I'm beginning to wonder. The door was out and operational, someone probably came opened the door to see if anyone was scaring and then the kid escaped."  
  
"Er, Randall..." She said suddenly standing up. Randall came to see what she was looking at. On the TV was a picture of the kid, the one they were after.  
  
"Uh oh."  
  
For the rest of the night, the searched half the city looking for the kid. But they couldn't find her anywhere. The next day at work was even stranger...  
  
First his stupid assistant gave him a heart attack in the bath room, then kept blabbing on loudly about the kid 'they' we after. Strangely, Randall felt as though there was someone else in there besides the two of them. After checking around the lockers in the locker room, he left for the scare floor. But he was interrupted from getting there by Wazowski and Sullevin.  
  
"What are you two doing?" He asked returning from spotted aqua blue and purple to his normal color.  
  
"They're rehersing a play." Said a monster walking by.  
  
"SHE'S OUT OF OUR HAAAAANDS-" Wazowski began singing in an opera like voice.  
  
"Can it Wazowski!" Randall snapped not really wanted to listen to him, not now, not ever. Slowly he crossed both sets of top arms and finished. "What do you think of that kid getting out Sullevin? Pretty crazy huh?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. crazy." Sullevin said.  
  
"Word on the street is, the kids been traced back to this factory, you haven't seen anything, have you?"  
  
"Well ah, um, I, ah." Sullevin stammered, giving Randall the idea he had.  
  
"No way! But if it was an inside job," Wazowski paused and slipped his arm around Randall's shoulder. "I'd put my money on Waxford."  
  
"Waxford?"  
  
"Ya know, at station six, he's got them shifty eyes.." Thinking about this Randall, narrowed his eyes and started forward.  
  
"Hey Waxford!" Then he began interrogating Waxford when Wazowski and his girlfriend, Celia, began to have a fight. That was when he heard the word sushi. Looking up he watched as Wazowski kept glancing up at him, then silencing her with a kiss. Looking down at the newspaper in his hands, he tilted it and in the background saw, Wazowski.  
  
"Wazowski!" He growled glaring up at him to see the olive had ran off. But boy did he track him down and tell him exactly what needed to be done. "Get the picture?" Olive boy whimpered in reply. Rolling his eyes, Randall dropped him as he ran off leaving him glaring after him.  
  
"Jeeze, Ran, any longer and Wazowski might have," Slike stopped, appearing next to him, as she saw the satisfied smirk on his face. "What did you do?"  
  
"Give me thirty minutes, and we will have the kid, and all of this will be cleared up. Get the machine ready and meet me back up on the scare floor as soon as possible, we've got a trap to set." Randall answered turning to look at her.  
  
"Whatever." Slike shook her head and walked off to start the machine.  
  
From inside the room Randall could hear Wazowski and Sullevin arguing behind the closet door. He camouflaged himself again and pulled the box he was going to trap the kid in farther up in the corner. Forced to keep his back to the closet door and the bed below him so he could stay up in the corner, he was going be his exceptional hearing to know when the kid was in the right position. The door opened and a few seconds later, the bed springs groaned. Swinging down he slammed the box lid shut, feeling movement inside he knew he had the kid. Closing the door with his tail, he put the extremely heavy crate in the trick scream canister cart and shut the lid. Sending the door away he began to push the cart out, when he heard a noise. Spinning around he quickly blended himself and searched the room. But before he could check everywhere the bell rang and he wanted to get out and get this over with soon.  
  
Finally near the basement Slike opened the secret door for him watching behind him to make sure no one came. Then strangely she blended and shut the door behind him, quickly and silently. As he and fungus started to lift the kid out, he could hear the door open and close again, think it just her coming back in, he didn't do anything.  
  
"Come on, come on, come on! While we're young here Fungus!" He said opening the cart and reaching in to pull out the box containing the kid. "Ugh, kid needs to take off a few pounds." He looked away from the box and glanced over Fungus' shoulder and saw Slike waving her arms. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her strangely. She was mouthing something but what he couldn't tell. He glanced down at the box then back up but to see she had gone. He and Fungus then opened the box, and threw... Wazowski into the chair?  
  
"WAZOWSKI?!" Randall yelled. "Where is it ya little one eyed kritten?! (really supposed to be cretin but we all know how ran pronounces it)" Then Wazowski shot him back a sarcastic answer and asked him about cheating or something. This made him laugh, 'the chuckle'. He motioned to Fungus to lower the machine, everything was going great till it stopped.  
  
Thanx guys for reviewing! Hope ya like! ^_^  
  
Nox . 


	14. Beginning of the End

Disclaimer: Don't own it.  
  
Chapter Fifteen: Beginning of the End  
  
"Oh for, what did you do this time?" Randall asked as the machine stopped.  
  
"Ah, ah, I don't know. I calibrated the drive shift and," Fungus started stammering. Randall rolled his eyes and yelled, as he followed Fungus around the control area.  
  
"GO CHECK THE MACHINE!"  
  
"AH!" He yelped in surprise, hurrying over to the machine. "There, there, must be something wrong with the scream in-take valve."  
  
"Ugh..." Randall looked down at the ground with an exasperated sigh to see a wire moving. "Huh?" With Fungus still jabbering on in the background, he crawled over the controls, onto the ground, and followed the wire to it's origin. When he found where it came from he saw that the plug had been pulled out. After putting it back in, he walked back over to the control area to see, not Wazowski, but Fungus undergoing the scream extractor. "What happened? Where's Wazowski!" But he gave no response, just flailed around wildly.  
  
"Where is he!" Randall growled again, stopping the machine. Fungus wheezed several inaudible words and pointed down the hall. Hissing to himself, Randall stalked off quickly to find the olive before he said too much.  
  
"Randall!" Halfway through the secret door, he heard his name being called. Randall turned around and saw Slike running up to him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Sullevin and Wazowski, that way and," She panted pointing down the hall.  
  
"Yeah I know!" He slipped past her trying to catch up.  
  
"No you don't understand! Sullevin's kid, it's the human kid we're after!"  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"When he opened the door to follow you in, I saw through the gap in the kid's hood, it wasn't a monster!"  
  
"You follow them, I'll tell Waternoose." She nodded and was gone in an instant.  
  
As a Scarer In Training was doing a test with scaring a robot, Randall walked into the scare testing room. He saw Mr. Waternoose by the TV's showing the new monster in the room and went over to him.  
  
"Mr. Waternoose, I need to speak with you." He said quietly, glaring at the S.I.T sitting in chairs, taking notes on what to do and what not to do while scaring.  
  
"Sure, what is it you want, my boy?" Waternoose replied walking out of the other monster's ear shot.  
  
"Sullevin and Wazowski know about the extractor, and they have the kid!"  
  
"What? How could you let them,"  
  
"I didn't let them, believe me. Knowing Sullevin he's going to be coming to you." Waternoose looked down sadly.  
  
"Yes I know he will. The only way to keep them quiet is banishment." Randall swallowed and looked over at the door. That's what he had been threatened with, if he didn't make the machine. Being banished and other horrible things. "Take this," Waternoose handed him a card key. "It's the banishment key, blend yourself and wait by the station. Slide it through when you get there, but don't call for it just yet. I'll do that." Randall nodded and blended himself, doing as he was told.  
  
When Sullevin and Wazowski charged in, Randall watched them from by the station waiting to get this over with. He had to admit Waternoose was a good actor. He really did seem to care and be sympathetic about the kid.  
  
"Ah, sir that's not her door." Wazowski pointed out with a suspicious look on his face.  
  
"I know, I know," Waternoose started. Randall took this as his cue to reappear and open the door. As the cold snow blew against him he nearly started shivering. "It's yours." Sullevin and Wazowski gasped and Waternoose took their surprise to act. Randall stepped to the side, as his boss shoved them through. When Waternoose shut the door, Randall deactivated the station immediately.  
  
"Take her." His boss growled thrusting the kid, roughly into Randall's arms. Waternoose turned and walked off. Randall looked down at the kid, sighed, and started back to the basement.  
  
Randall walked through the atrium, earning several odd stares, in the process. He ignored everyone, and went back down the long hallway that led to the machine room. A few minutes later, Slike fell into sink beside him.  
  
"Where's Sullevin and Wazowski? I lost them after I left you." She said as her eyes fell upon the kid.  
  
"Waternoose banished them." Randall said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yeah, here." He handed the kid to her causing Slike to stop. She looked down at the little girl and swallowed hard. The kid sobbed slightly and put her arms around Slike's neck, hanging on as if for dear life.  
  
"Uh.." She pulled her head back looking from the kid to Randall.  
  
"Boggs, where are you!" Growled Mr. Waternoose's voice from down the hall.  
  
"Let me take here, you get out before Waternoose sees you." Randall said taking the kid back. Before she left Slike leaned up and hugged him. Just as Waternoose came around the corner she vanished, but was still hugging him.  
  
"Well what are you waiting for?! Let's go!" His boss snarled, right as Slike let go and was gone, Waternoose shoved past Randall heading towards the secret door.  
  
After nearly everything was set up, and Randall was just finishing putting the restraints across the kid's hands, Waternoose decided to say something.  
  
"Finally, I never should have trusted you with this! Because of you I had to banish my top Scarer!" He said accusingly.  
  
"Ah, with this machine we won't need Scarers." Randall paused then finished, "Besides, Sullevin got what he deserved."  
  
"Sullevin was TWICE the Scarer you'll ever be!" Randall was at this moment busy with the kid, he stopped dead and growled quietly, his eyes fixing Waternoose with a glare.  
  
As Fungus started up the machine, a slow smile spread across Randall's face. Not what about what he was doing to the kid, but that is was all going to be over. But doesn't it just figure that right when the extractor was about to fix on the kid, Sullevin charged in and pushed it back, breaking the machine, and tossing it at Fungus, Waternoose, and himself.  
  
"Sullevin?!" Spluttered Mr. Waternoose in surprise. Before the machine hit, Randall jumped onto the wall. But Waternoose, seeing as he can't really jump on walls was trapped. In this time Sullevin, ripped the restraint off the seat and picked the kid up.  
  
"STOP HIM!" Ordered Waternoose. Growling, Randall blended himself and went after Sullevin.  
  
What he loved so much about blending, was being able to do this. He stood right in front of Sullevin, with his fist pulled back, and the great lummox didn't stop. Right when he was close enough, Randall brought his fist forward giving Sullevin a hard left hook. Several more punches were thrown, and Sullevin wasn't even putting up a fight yet. Blue boy stopped looking around wildly but not behind him to see the scream tank rise into the air then slam down on the back of his head. He fell forward into the wall, and rolled over onto his back looking dazed. Uncurling down from one of the bars he was hanging on, Randall reappeared before Sullevin with a wide upside down grin on his face. Turning over so he wouldn't be seeing upside- down Randall said,  
  
"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that SULLEVIN!"  
  
As the oaf got to his feet and reached out to grab him, Randall pulled back and vanished again, laughing just to annoy him. Randall hit him several more times, then jumped up and kicked him hard, sending Sullevin down, sliding across the floor. Suddenly the olive, Wazowski appeared with several snowballs in his hand. 'Where are they coming from?' Randall asked himself.  
  
While Wazowski carried on about something he wasn't even listening too, Sullevin tried to explain what was going on. But the olive didn't understand. Shrugging to himself, Randall punched Sullevin several more times. His knuckles were actually starting to get sore. Resting his knuckles, he grabbed Sullevin's arm pulled him forward, and slammed him into a boiler, (at least that's what I think it is.) and pulled one of his arms up behind his back. Randall had had that done to him before in fact, it was actually pretty painful. Releasing him, Randall got around in front of Sullevin and punched him again, as Sullevin swung around blindly hoping to hit him.  
  
That was when Randall saw the pipe coming out of the boiler and got an idea. He climbed up onto it, waited for Sullevin to back up under it, then wrapped his body around Sullevin's neck. Coiling himself tighter, he was nearly lifting Sullevin off the ground now. Sullevin kept prying at his neck, trying to remove Randall, only making him constrict tighter. About now, Sullevin was giving up from lack of oxygen. His arms fell limply to his sides and he stopped gagging. Then something unexpected happened.  
  
A poorly aimed, snowball hit him directly in the face. Blinking trying to get it out of his eyes, Sullevin back handed him. This knocked him out cold. Randall's eyes rolled up into his head, and he slipped off Sullevin's neck and onto the ground. Groaning he opened one eye then closed them as he tried to pull himself up.  
  
"Get up! There can't be any witnesses!" He heard Waternoose yelling.  
  
"There won't be!" Randall replied lifting himself up. Once he was sure Waternoose couldn't hear him he muttered to himself, "Why don't you get up and do it if you don't want anyone to know you stupid, egotistical," more muttering not for little ears.  
  
"What?!" Randall looked up and saw Slike with a shocked expression on her face. "I didn't know you put those words together in one sentence." he did not need this right now. His left eye twitched slightly and he growled again. Slike backed up a step as her fronds went down against her head.  
  
"Don't look at me like that." He said brushing past her heading down a hallway.  
  
"They went the other way." Randall stopped turned around, but she was gone, Fungus running after him in her place. He swallowed and picked up speed, he'd make it up to her later.  
  
Just as he was coming out of the corridor, some idiot with a cart of scream tanks got in their way. Having not much time to think, Randall tried to jump it, but missed knocking several tanks off. Fungus yelped and jumped over a few tanks that rolled in front of him. Strangely several of the tanks move and swerved by themselves, not the way normal falling tanks would.  
  
"Idiot!" He snarled trying to get after Sullevin and Wazowski before they got too far away. As he came onto the scare floor, he looked around and then spotted just who he was looking for. "There they are!" Then the intercom came on, he wasn't really listening until they said his name.  
  
"Attention employees, Randall Boggs has just broken the all time scare record!"  
  
"Huh?" Randall asked looking up. He tried to continue forward, but was suddenly mobbed by monsters wanting to thank him. "No I didn't! Get out of my way! Get off my tail! Let me through!" He finally broke through the monsters and headed straight for Sullevin. Suddenly Sullevin hit the eject button and all the doors were taken back.  
  
And so now the door game began. Randall found himself going to several different countries in the chase for the stupid kid. Japan, Hawaii or somewhere tropical, and the weirdest of all France. It's not that he didn't like France but the going through and then falling to the side was kind of weird. Anyway, he finally grabbed the kid and let Sullevin and Wazowski drop. That was great. He thought he was finally rid of those two but no they just had to live. When he saw Sullevin nearly on top of him, Randall thought fast and jumped through the door into a kid's room. Setting the kid down and getting up onto the ceiling waiting for Sullevin. Swinging down, he brought Sullevin down and sent him out the door, hanging onto the rim. After an exchange of words and Randall attempting to knock Sullevin out the door, one of the most embarrassing things ever to happen to him occurred. He was beaten, by a kid.  
  
It made no sense what so ever. She was terrified of him, then it all vanished? To this day everyone and then his fronds get sore. And the nerve. the nerve of Sullevin to hold him by the neck like some common serpent. Randall if he had been able to would have killed him, he could have killed that that....  
  
But how he was going to kill Sullevin was not one of his worries right now. His main worry was the door open in front of him and the pushing, oh excuse, throwing sensation he was going through. Randall struggled as hard as possible to get away but it wasn't much use. He went soaring through the door landing with a thud in the kid's room. He rolled over several times before crashing into a wall.  
  
* * * *  
  
In the monster world however things were different. While Sullevin and Wazowski went being all goodie two shoes trying to return the kid, Slike was panicking.  
  
She'd seen them go into the door vault but didn't get back there soon enough. Busting through a pair of doors looking around frantically she saw them. Sullevin and Wazowski playing baseball with Randall. Cold hatred and anger boiled over inside of her chest. Then she was the door, and all the anger and hatred Slike had felt was gone in an instant, and something like. terror, fear, or a feeling of horror at what was about to happen coursed through her veins.  
  
"No don't do it!" She yelled but they didn't hear her. Slike felt herself take a sharp intake of breath as Randall was thrown roughly through the door. After that breath she couldn't breath. It got worse as Wazowski sent the door over the edge crashing on the floor.  
  
Slowly she turned around sinking down to a sitting position. Trying to breathe again she felt under water as her vision became blurred. Slike pulled both bottom set's of knees up and rapped her tail around her. She couldn't hold it anymore and the tears came pouring out. They'd banished him, illegally. Even if it had been legal that didn't matter, it wasn't fare.  
  
Swallowing hard, she stood up blinking to rid her eyes of the tears. Turning to look over the balcony again she could see the shattered pieces still at the bottom. Breathing in, she set her eyes colder than ever, and went out to find her target.. Wazowski and Sullevin.  
  
Thanx for the reviews guys! Yall are great!!!! ^_^ Sorry this one took a while too, went snow boarding. Hope ya liked it! Next chappy up soon.  
  
nox 


	15. Lost and Found

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters, except Sye Slike, she's mine, and Joey, no taking!  
  
Chapter Sixteen: Lost and Found  
  
Randall opened his eyes and looked around the room. He didn't see anyone. There was an open door to his left. Standing up he walked out, keeping an eye out for humans. Then suddenly he heard, "Momma, another gator got in the house!"  
  
"Another gator? Gimme that there shovel!" Someone replied. Randall already hated how that sounded.  
  
A shovel was brought down hard onto his head. Knocking him down instantly. Wincing he tried to get back up, lifting his head onto the have the shovel give him an upper cut, forcing him nearly off the ground. Next, that stupid hillbilly maniac brought the sharp edge down on the top of his head. As soon as it hit he could feel the ectoplasm leaking from the fresh wound. After several more hard hits the lady kicked him roughly in the head to see if he would fight back. Randall couldn't move let alone fight. She handed the shovel to her son who was cheering insanely. She grabbed his tail pulled him towards the door, opened it, and dragged him down the stairs behind her. The she picked him up by his fronds and slung him across the yard. As Randall hit the ground he groaned. He hadn't hurt this bad in a long time. He pulled his tail around him and tried to sink lower into the grass. Darkness came before his eyes as he slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
The dark was replaced by a memory again. Randall's legs were carrying him as fast as he could go up a flight of stairs. He was nearing a door at the top of the flight. He smashed through it out into the pouring, dark, cold rain. The rain was like ice against his scales. But for some reason he didn't shiver in the slightest. He was staring frantically around. He was on a rooftop. Like the top of a school or office building. Then his eyes fell, upon two monsters standing about ten yards away. One was standing up in front of another who was propped up on their elbows, lying on the ground under, well almost, under the first one. Randall felt himself swallow hard and start forward. As he got closer he could begin to see the features on the monsters. One was a snake like creature with two arms and long black claws at the end of each of its eight fingers. It was banded with bright blue and green and had spikes ran from the tip of its nose to its tail. He knew him! That was a younger Parker, much younger. He looked about sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen. The other was a lizard like reptile that resembled Slike, except it was a boy. He was about the same age as the snake maybe a little younger. He had the same pattern as Slike with blue and black rather than red, blue eyes, and still three fronds. He was panting slightly while trying, and doing a very good job at it, to growl. Randall knew him as well, but he had no idea how he could have know him... that lizard looked exactly, exactly, like a younger Joey. Nearly the same age as he was in the picture Slike had of him.  
  
"You know Joey, I would have made you best man." Parker said putting his hands in the pockets of his jacket staring down at Joey. "We could have spent years together, best friends. Now look at you, you had it coming, buddy."  
  
"You were never my friend. You hear me never!" Joey growled. Randall recognized that voice. It was so familiar. "Give it up, you'll never have a chance with her. Whatever you do to me, you won't get away with it." Parker's jaw clenched as he glared down at Joey. Then in a split second he had pulled a handgun out of the pocket of his coat. He pointed it straight between Joey's eyes.  
  
"That's where you're wrong." Parker hissed cocking the gun. Joey scooted backwards pulling his body away from the snake. "I'll have your sister Joey, I swear it. The thing is, no one's ever going to know about your heroic stand off."  
  
Randall felt his fronds lie back as a menacing growl escaped his mouth. Not loud enough for them to hear, but somehow, Joey heard it. He turned his head to the side and stared straight at him, then back at Parker.  
  
"I think you're wrong snake. She's been taken, by someone better than you can ever be." Joey paused and grinned slightly, before looking more deadly and scarier than anything Randall had ever seen. "Stay away from her."  
  
The rest was happening in slow motion. Randall could see what was going through Parker's mind. He rushed forward to stop it, but there was no way he could have helped. The echoing bang sounded through the night. The raindrops seemed to freeze as the bullet shot from the gun. Joey fell backwards, lying limp against the pavement.  
  
Randall skidded to a halt at his friend's side. He shook his shoulders but it was too late. His eyes began to sting with tears as his best friend lay dead before him. Randall sat back away from his friend staring at the blood on his fingertips. Suddenly something cold, and metal was placed against the side of his head.  
  
Randall then was waken from the memory by the loud crash of thunder in the real world. He groaned, walked, tried to walk, over to a fallen log, and curled up underneath it. He was trying to explain to himself how he had this image of Joey in his head. He couldn't have known Joey, he had no recollection of the event that kept playing through his mind. But the way he felt when he'd seen the other monster killed made him feel as if, he'd just witnessed... someone like Slike being killed.  
  
* * * *  
  
Slike found Wazowski a day after all the stupid CDA agents had left. Sullevin was gone probably moping about the kid. Wazowski was parading around the scare floor, sitting behind a desk at the moment talking to a few people. Slike stood at the back of the crowd waited for a few seconds then said in the most threatening, hiss she could, "Wazowski." The crowd went silent and stepped back. Slike stared Wazowski down, her cold yellow eyes boring into his skull. She started forward as the crowd began to leave.  
  
"Yeah what do you want?" He asked trying to be tough and failing miserably. Slike looked to make sure the crowd was gone and no one was watching, when she rushed forward flattening the olive against the floor. Her front two feet were holding his legs down, her hands had his wrists pinned against the floor, and her two back most feet were holding her up.  
  
"Where is he?" Slike asked. "I saw you banish him, don't think your gonna get away with it so easily."  
  
"Get... get away with what?" Slike hissed and tightened her grip on his wrists to the point of painful.  
  
"You are going to tell me exactly where that door took him. Don't even think about going to Sullevin for help, because believe me Wazowski you don't want me on your bad side. And right now you're flirting dangerously with crossing the line."  
  
"I don't know where it took him!"  
  
"I suggest you find out." She pushed him down into the floor one more time, then stood up and stalked off. She knew Wazowski wasn't going to be much help so she went down to the floor on which the door had smashed in the door vault.  
  
All doors have some kind of markings on them that say where they are from. As Slike looked over the smashed door she could see the word's United States printed on the side. That narrowed it down some but not a lot. Sighing she leaned back and stared at the door, trying to think of what to do. The pieces aren't that small, she thought, picking two up and placing them together.  
  
Slike walked back through the door with Wazowski shortly behind her. Well he was more or less being dragged behind her.  
  
"I told you I can't help! There is no way in he-"He stopped ranting as she set him down in front of the door.  
  
"No way huh? Think again." Slike grinned evilly at him as the red light went on above the miraculously fixed door.  
  
"I still don't know why you need me!" Wazowski yelled backing away as the advanced on him.  
  
"I need you, because I don't know if it's safe in there. Therefore, you will be the distraction." Slike kicked open the door grabbed the struggling Wazowski and threw him through, shutting it behind him. She laid her head against the door listening for anything, nothing. Deciding it was safe she opened it and went in after him. "Wazowski?" No response.  
  
Slike looked around the room to see an open hall door. Walking out she already wished she didn't. That stupid hillbilly women after her first encounter with a 'gator' had gotten a dog.  
  
Wazowski was standing on a table, the dog in front of him, the women and her son in the kitchen waving a shovel. Suddenly the dog spotted Slike. Wincing at her other memory with a dog, she crouched down, baring her teeth in a growl. The dog barked and charged at her. Looking around for what to do she jumped up on the wall as the dog skidded by her into a room at the end of the hall. She slammed the door shut behind it as Wazowski ran past her through the closest door shutting it behind him and most probably deactivating it.  
  
But now, Slike couldn't worry about the door. The foremost thing on her mind was the woman with a shovel coming at her. Dodging the first blow, but not the second as it came down on the very tip of her tail, snipping a piece off. Slike hissed in pain, and backed up. Looking at her options she saw then a door leading outside. Taking her chance she sprinted past the lady and out the door then into the swamp.  
  
The light outside dimmed at the women shut the door and locked it. Slike swallowed hard and looked down at her tail. It would grow back and be fine. She then looked around trying to find her next target... Randall.  
  
* * *  
  
Randall tried to run the thought of what was going on through his mind again. Nothing, it just wasn't working. Each time he'd remembered the events his head had been his, or smashed, or something had happened. No desperate enough yet to bodily harm to himself to remember he laid there, curled up staring off into space.  
  
Suddenly there was a rustling noise in the bushes to his left. Lifting his head slightly he could feel the cold sensation of someone watching him. Standing up onto his back two pairs of legs he looked around in the darkness. There was nothing he could see that would explain the noise. Randall swallowed and started forward to where he had thought the noise had come from.  
  
* * *  
  
Slike search around the forest floor for Randall being as quiet as possible to not attract any humans. Then her foot slipped and snapped a twig beneath her. Wincing at the sharp loud noise she could hear something move just beyond a group shrubs and bush like foliage. She froze crouching down a little lower. Whatever it was, was coming towards her. Glancing around seeing as she didn't have enough time to run and her blending powers wouldn't work in the human world for long, Slike waited for the right moment then charged forward at the thing knocking it flat to the ground.  
  
* * *  
  
Randall winced as he was slammed back into the earth. He tried to focus on the thing on top of him, hoping it wasn't a dog. Then as he slowly came into focus Slike appeared a shocked expression on her face. He could just hear her begin to say something that sounded like an apology and asking if he was alright, when his eyes slipped out of focus and he blacked out.  
  
The cold metal against the side of his head made Randall freeze completely, all he felt now was cold deep hatred for the owner of the gun.  
  
"Get up." Snapped the owner of the gun, Parker. Randall swallowed hard fighting the urge to whip around and punch Parker, knowing he would wind up like Joey if he did anything stupid. Slowly he stood up and the gun was positioned directly in front of his face so that he was staring down the barrel. Parker advanced so that Randall backed up, so far that his heels were touching the edge of the building. He winced; inwardly terrified as the gun was cocked, ready to blow half his head away at any second. Parker seeing his wince laughed cold and cruel.  
  
"Think about the possibilities? Two friends have a fight, both end up dead, one holding a gun, need I say more?" Parker paused shifting the gun slightly so he could stare straight at Randall, his cold eyes boring into Randall's skull. "Can u guess whose holding the gun?" .  
  
"So what? You kill me and Joey, it's not like Sye is ever going to love you." Randall growled. Parker's jaw tightened. And he pulled his arm back thrusting it forward, back handing Randall just hard enough to flip him backwards off the building. Scrambling to get a hold of the cement railing around the building, Randall glanced down at the drop beneath him then back up at Parker.  
  
"Oh I will have her, and there's nothing you can do to stop it Boggs." Parker kneeled down and leaned down close to Randall. "She's going to beg for me to love her by the time I'm done." Randall stopped struggling to get back up and turned his head to stare at Joey. He could tell from what he saw in the snake's eyes that what he was saying was true. "Besides killing you and Joey was half the fun." He grabbed the collar of Randall's jacket gave him one last smirk then shoved him backwards, forcing Randall to let go of the wall he was clinging too.  
  
Several feet before he hit the ground Randall managed to grab onto the wall just long enough to slow his fall, but his grip was not strong enough to save him from hitting the ground. His back hit the ground then his head followed slamming back into the cement.  
  
For several seconds in this flashback it was black, then Randall could feel someone shaking his shoulders.  
  
"Hey kid, you alright?" Randall opened his eyes slowly and focused on the police monster by his side. He was a reptilian type monster with light gray scales and calm blue eyes. "You ok?" The monster helped him sit up then finished, "That's a nasty cut on the back of you're head, what'd you do fall off a building or something?"  
  
"I... don't know, I can't remember how I got it." Randall replied feeling the cut with his top hand.  
  
"Baxter, get your tail up here now!" Yelled a voice from on top of the building. The reptile looked up at another police officer then back at Randall.  
  
"You heard him get moving." Growled a cat like monster from behind Baxter. Baxter gave Randall a sad smile stood up then turned and walked away, passing by the cat monster who muttered, "Slimy freak." As he passed by. But Baxter didn't say anything. Randall felt sorry for him, most reptiles were treated like that. "I have a few questions to ask you regarding the death of Joey Slike. Were you-"  
  
"Who? Whose Joey Slike?" Randall asked interrupting him.  
  
"You are Randall Boggs aren't you?"  
  
"Yeah..." The monster stared at him for a few minutes then continued.  
  
"A witness has told us that you were an acquaintance of Joey, and that you were probably one of the last people to see him alive."  
  
"I'm sorry but I have no idea who you're talking about." The monster becoming aggravated stood up and glared down at Randall.  
  
"If you feel like being helpful here's the stations number, now get." He helped Randall up roughly and handed him a piece of paper with a number on it, then said, "You heard me leave!"  
  
Randall walked away from the scene towards where he knew his home was. He felt very strange. It was as if he couldn't recall something. He could remember everything that had happened before today all the way through his life, but it still felt like someone or something was missing. Like something had been erased leaving barely anything for him to go on. He tried shaking the feeling off, but he couldn't escape that he was forgetting someone. He was stirred from his thoughts as someone came running up to him and pulled him into a hug. Shoving whoever it was back and freeing himself Randall stared down at the girl in front of him. She had orange red scales and black eyes and instead of fronds long black hair pulled into a ponytail, she was crying.  
  
"Randall have you heard what happened to Joey? I can't believe it! I just saw him last night." She said looking up at him.  
  
"Who are you?" Randall questioned.  
  
"What? Don't you remember me? I'm Shelby! What's the matter with you! Joey's dead!"  
  
"Who's Joey! Who are you! I don't understand anything you're talking about! Just leave me alone!" And he pushed past her and walked on. Through the small crowd that was gathering around the school. He remember some of the faces in the crowd, he could recognize them easily, but these people that kept talking about Joey he had no idea who they were.  
  
The memory ended and all Randall saw now was Slike looking down at him.  
  
"Are you ok?" She asked her eyes looking over the cut along his head.  
  
"Yeah I think." He answered sitting up. "Sye there's something I have you tell you."  
  
"What about?"  
  
"Your brother."  
  
I'm soooooooooooooooooooooo sorry this took forever! Everything has been crazy at home and school so I haven't really gotten a chance to sit down and right. Well I hope this chapter explains some, and now there's only the next chapter and the epilogue, then it's over! Ah! Another reason it's been taking forever is I've been working on a story that happens kind of a sequel to this one, except it takes place before Joey dies and when Randy was in school. Hope you liked this chapter!  
  
Thanx for reviewing,  
  
Nox 


	16. Till the end of ends

Disclaimer: see previous chapters.

Chapter Seventeen: Till then end

"My brother?" Slike repeated backing up several steps. "Randall, what-"

"I know how he died."

"Parker-."

"Sye, I knew him! I got hit on the head and forgot it! I forgot you, I forgot him, I forgot Parker. Everything, but now remember now. Joey and I were friends. We went to the same school, he stayed with me at the boarding house since your parents got divorced in the third grade." Slike just stared at him tears welling up in her eyes. "That night on the roof, Parker had lost it. Joey had agreed to meet him about something Parker made up, but Parker killed him."

"Why didn't you say anything?" She asked.

"I didn't know I knew this till now! I'd been seeing pictures of this in my mind for my whole life since it happened." Randall didn't know how to make her believe him. She was staring at him like he was crazy. "A picture! He had a picture in his locker of you! You were maybe 14 or 15, its like the picture you have of him in your apartment except you both tore it in half to remember each other."

"How do you know that?"

"He told me Sye!"

"He said he only told one other person named," Randall racked his brain. He knew the answer.

"Spiky. That's what he said, he gave me that nickname if fifth grade."

"You're not lying." She said in disbelief. "He told me all about his friend Spiky that he went to live with. That's why I didn't know you! The way you acted and looked, sounded familiar but when you said that about the picture I knew that you weren't him." She put her arms up around his neck and cried into his shoulder. Randall swallowed hard, and hugged her back.

"How touching…" Growled a cold voice both of them knew.

"What are you doing here!" Randall growled back.

"To finissssh what I ssssstarted that night. When you fell you ssssshould have died Boggssss. That wassss everything would have been perfect. But no you have to live and be the little hero didn't you?" Parker said.

"How'd you get out? The CDA-" Sye started.

"The CDA are idiotsssss. They don't know anything. Bessssssidessss fitting through barsssss issssss my sssssspeciallity." Randall saw something metal flash and then before he knew it Sye was lying about five feet away on the ground a fresh cut on the side of her head. "I'll deal with you later," He hissed towards her. Then looked back at Randall. And for the second time in his life Randall was staring down a gun barrel that was pointed directly at him. _What idiot would give him a gun? _Randall thought to himself. "Don't worry Boggsssss I'll take care of her. We might even come to the funeral." Randall heard him cock the gun and he shut his eyes. There was a deffening bang but Randall was still alive.

He saw Slike had rushed forward and shoved Parker just as he fired sending the bullet the wrong way. Parker dropped the gun and Slike grabbed it up fiddling with it for a second before pointing it at him.

"Get back." She hissed advancing on him.

"You wouldn't ssssshoot me Sssssye, you don't have the gutsssssss." Randall saw it but he couldn't stop it. Parker's tail curled around Slike ankle and jerked her backwards so she lost her balanced and fell. Parker picked up the gun and aimed it back at him. "He didn't say anything but pulled back on the trigger. There was a little click but no fire. Parker tried again, click click click, but no fire.

"looking for these?" Slike asked holding up the ammunition cartridge. "Catch!" She threw them up and Parker grabbed but missed, they landed in Randall's hands. Parker advanced on Slike and she kick him hard in the stomach, sending him backwards the gun falling out of his hand. Randall grabbed it up and loaded it.

"Hey Parker? You said she didn't have the guts, well guess what? I do!" Randall fired twice hitting the snake square in the chest. He fell onto his stomach limply and didn't try to get up. Slike stood up and backed away from the snake and towards Randall.

"Is he?" She started

"Well if he isn't he won't be getting up anytime soon. We should get out of here." Randall glanced back up at the woman and her son's trailer. He then smirked to himself. Slike and him walked up to the front door and knocked. The women opened the door and nearly fainted as the two lizards crawled across her ceiling and into the boys bedroom closet.

Slike had left the door activated and she quickly turned the station off.

"We can't stay here in Monstropolis." Slike pointed out as the exited the deserted factory.

"I know. How's about we go back to where you came from?"

"Alright, it's big enough that we can blend in. Just let me get Jake first."

Randall rolled his eyes. After all they'd been through she still wants to keep that creature around. Parker wouldn't find them there if he lived. That thought comforted him to know that now he had Sye all too himself… with the exception of Jake of course.

Gosh I am so sorry this took so long too do! Hope you guys can forgive me. I know I know cheesy and fluffy ending but I sat down and was determined to finish it and this is what ya get. Well I hope you liked it and if not, let me know and I'll see if I can find some time to finish it. Thanx!

Nox


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